Zidane will risk Ramos even though Clasico ban a possibility
The defender will play against Sporting, while Zidane also urged James to stay at the club
Zinedine Zidane confirmed in his pregame press conference for Real Madrid’s game against Sporting Gijon that Sergio Ramos will start despite being one booking away from a suspension which would rule him out of the Clasico against Barcelona next weekend.
In addition, the French coach also spoke about the recently injured Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovaic, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez, Raphael Varane and Casemiro. He said the game against Sporting “will be more difficult than people think.”
Here are Zidane’s key phrases:
BALE: We have to get by without him. I hope he recovers as quickly as possible. We decided to operate on the injury because it’s what the experts recommended.
VARANE: He’s got a pain in his knee, hopefully he will be recovered in two or three days.
CASEMIRO: He’s back with us and ready to play. We’ll see on Saturday [if he starts].
JAMES: If I was him, I wouldn’t leave Real Madrid. It’s not been his moment in the last few games because others have played and done well. But he’s going to be important for us.
RAMOS: He will play tomorrow. The important game, before the Barça one, is tomorrow’s. And I’m confident everything will go OK.
COENTRAO: People were too tough on him [giving a penalty way at Sporting]. He’s seems fine and is getting better all the time. The only thing is he’s got a small problem and can’t play tomorrow.
KOVACIC: The kid has always worked hard. He’s always done well when needed and is an important player for us, like the rest.
BENZEMA: Everyone judges him. He has to perform always, to score all the time. But it’s not that serious. He does his work and there will always be criticism.
