Zinedine Zidane hopes Neymar recovers from an ankle injury in time to feature for Paris Saint-Germain against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s league game at Espanyol, Zidane told a news conference: “I don’t like players getting hurt. I’m not happy about Neymar’s injury. I hope he can play against us. In the end, players need to play. I’m never going to wish for a player to be absent because of an injury.”
Cristiano Ronaldo heads into the midweek encounter in sizzling form with eight goals in his last four games in all competitions.
“He knows himself well,” Zidane said of Ronaldo. “I speak to him a lot and it’s very important to have Cristiano in top form. He knows that at times he needs to rest.
“The season is long. At the end of the season, there is the World Cup and the players unconsciously think about that. I know that because I’ve experienced that. It’s not negative, it’s just the way it is. A World Cup is every four years.”
Zidane is also happy to see Gareth Bale getting back to his best after the Wales international was on the scoresheet in Saturday’s 4-0 home triumph over Alaves.
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