Zidane: I hope Neymar's fit for Champions League second leg
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane spoke to the media on Monday ahead of Los Blancos' LaLiga match against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says he hopes Neymar is able to face his side in next Tuesday's Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
The striker was stretchered off with an ankle injury in PSG's Ligue 1 win against Marseille on Sunday, throwing his participation in the last-16 return into doubt.
Speaking ahead of Real Madrid's LaLiga match at Espanyol on Tuesday, Zidane also discussed Cristiano Ronaldo's recent return to scoring form and Gareth Bale's fine display in the weekend victory over Alavés.
Five quotes from Zidane's press conference:
Are you pleased about Neymar's injury? "No. I don't like seeing players getting injured. I'm not happy about it. I hope he'll be fit for the second leg. I would never want a player to be ruled out by injury."
Espanyol: "I don't look at where teams are in the table. They're a side who have consistently shown what they can do when up against the big clubs this year. We're going to have to put in a great display if we want to come away with a positive result."
Bale's improvement: "He looks the same as ever to me; it's just a case of him feeling in better shape every day. He performed excellently the other day [against Alavés]."
Ronaldo is firmly back amongst the goals: is this because he has been managed with a view to ensuring he peaks at the business end of the season? "It's a bit of everything, but above all he knows his body and we talk to him a lot. It's very important to always have Cristiano firing on all cylinders. He knows that from time to time he has to rest; it's a long, hard season. What's more, these are players who have a World Cup at the end of the season."
Injury victims Marcelo, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric: "They're recovering. They weren't able to train with the group [on Monday] but that doesn't mean anything. We'll see how they get on from Wednesday onwards."
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