Coach Carlo Ancelotti announced that Real Madrid's star Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the La Liga match against Real Sociedad on April 5, 2014 due to a knee injury, BBC Sports writes. Ancelotti describes the physical condition as a mere minor annoyance.
During the first leg of the quarterfinal of the Champions League, Ronaldo, 29 years old, was replaced to prevent further injury. Real Madrid nevertheless won against Borussia Dortmund 3-0. He limped off the field while exiting.
In the current season, team captain Ronaldo has garnered 28 goals in the domestic league and is the top scorer in the team, as well as the Champions League. He complained about some discomfort in his left knee in the past few weeks but continued playing. The discomfort started after their win over Schalke on March 18, 2014. The team's medical staff has been taking care of the knee in the previous weeks.
Ancelotti said on April 4, 2014, "We will Cristiano tomorrow because he is a bit tired." He added, "We want to avoid taking any risks, we have a lot of important games coming up." The coach chose to keep Ronaldo out for the game against Real Sociedad so he can recover and be ready for the game on April 8, 2014. He wanted the star forward to be fresh and hasten recovery. He already reportedly spoke to Ronaldo and they both agreed that it was better that he skip the match to rest over the weekend, according to The Guardian report.
The Portugal team is currently at No. 3 with seven games left in the season. Real Sociedad is No. 6. Champions Barcelona is holding the No. 2 spot while Atletico Madrid is number one. Real Madrid is just three points behind Atletico and two points behind Barcelona.
According to Bleacher Report, coach Ancelotti said that there was no need to be alarmed. He announced in a news conference, "It's a slight knee problem and I'm not worried about it." He concluded, "I took him off 10 minutes before the end and there is no reason to worry."