Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo and Keylor Navas are expected to miss the Super Cup final against Sevilla on 9 August due to injuries. And the former Manchester United star is also a major doubt for the La Liga opener with Real Sociedad 12 days later.
Meanwhile, Karim Benzema is out for the International Champions Cup friendly against Chelsea on Saturday (30 July). But he could arrive on time to face the Europe League winners.
The Champions League holders are set continue their preparation for the 2016-2017 campaign with a friendly against the Blues after they kicked off their pre-season with a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint Germain. Yet, the manager is still expected to deploy a weak line-up as, apart of the injured trio, many of his major international stars such as Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos or James Rodriguez have just joined the pre-season.
Ronaldo has not even travelled to the US with the rest of the squad after injuring his knee in the first minutes of the Portugal victory over France in the Euro 2016 final on July 10. Meanwhile, Navas is already working with the team but is unavailable for selection as the Costa Rican keeper is still recovering from the Achilles tendon operation that he underwent earlier in June, which kept him also out of the Copa America.
Speaking ahead of the encounter against Chelsea, the Real Madrid boss has confirmed that the duo are going to struggle to arrive on time for the first official game against Sevilla while Ronaldo could even miss the La Liga opener against Real Sociedad on 21 August.
"( Ronaldo) is rule out for the Super Cup," Zidane confirmed as quoted by the Real Madrid website. "His injury requires a month and we are not going to use him after a month out and with no pre-season at all. We have 10 days between the Super Cup and the following game of the season (the La Liga opener against on. He'll be back (training) but I don't' think he will play the first game."
"(Keylor Navas) is feeling better, but it looking a bit complicated that he will arrive on time for the Super Cup," the boss added when asked about the recovery of his number one. "When we return to Spain he will see the doctor to continue his working plan. It looks difficult but he's working hard and he's feeling better every day. Casilla is the second choice keeper and he is prepared (to cope with his potential absence). We're happy with him and he's ready to play."
Karim Benzema is also out for the friendly against Chelsea after he already missed the defeat to PSG. Yet, Zidane hopes the French to be able to play some minutes in the following game against Bayern Munich on Thursday (4 August) in a bid to have him fully fit for the opening game of the campaign against the Europe League winners.
"[ Benzema] won't play [against Chelsea]," the boss said. "An injured player is always a worry. It's a recurring problem with his hip. We are working every day with the physios on this issue, let's hope he can take part in the third game because it's important that he plays a bit before the Super Cup."