Madrid (AFP) – Portugal’s Euro 2016 winning captain Cristiano Ronaldo resumed training for his club Real Madrid on Saturday after picking up a knee injury in the final victory over France.
No date has been set for a full return to action but a slimline and tanned Ronaldo trained separately from the rest of the group, as did teammate Karim Benzema, who has also been sidelined through injury.
“I can’t give a precise date for Ronaldo’s return” said Madrid’s French coach Zinedine Zidane.
“It’s good that Cristiano is back on the pitch, playing with the ball, it’s a good sign. He wants to come back as fast as possible and I’m happy to have him back at training.”
Real start their La Liga campaign against Real Sociedad on Sunday, but neither Ronaldo or Benzema, who is suffering with a back injury, will be fit to play.
“You need to take your time with these things, I spoke to Karim and he knows that we don’t want him to come back and then get injured again. We want him to come back at 100%.”
Last season Madrid won their 11th Champions League title against derby rivals Atletico. They then also won the European Supercup against Sevilla.
This year Zidane has said that Madrid’s priority will be to wrench the La Liga title from Barcelona, and put an end to their rival’s domination of the domestic competitions.
