Injured Ronaldo Needs more Rest, Says Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane admitted he should have rested star Cristiano Ronaldo more in recent weeks after he limped off in Real's 3-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday.

Ronaldo was seen holding his right hamstring before leaving the field in the closing minutes, putting at risk his presence in Madrid's Champions League semi-final, first leg at Manchester City next week.

Zidane is confident the three-time World Player of the Year will be fit to face the English side, but recognized he has to take more care of the Portuguese, who had played all but one minute of Madrid's previous 43 La Liga and Champions League games.

"He got a fright, but I don't think it is anything serious," said Zidane.

"We will see tomorrow (Thursday) what he has.

"I am calmer now than when I saw him leave the pitch.

"For a coach when you have a player like Cristiano sometimes it is necessary for him to not play a game or not finish a match."

However, there was better news on the injury front for Zidane as he confirmed that Gareth Bale should be fit for the trip to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday after missing the visit of Villarreal with a muscle problem

"Hopefully he will train with us tomorrow and be ready for the game on Saturday," added the Frenchman.

An eighth consecutive La Liga victory kept Real a point behind leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who both also won on Wednesday, with four games of the La Liga season remaining.

Barcelona bounced back in dramatic fashion from three consecutive league defeats for the first time in 13 years with an 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna thanks to four goals and three assists from Luis Suarez.