Roldo, Benzema injuries worry for Madrid

ArrayMadrid, April 27: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has admitted his side could be without star strikers Cristiano Roldo and Karim Benzema for the return leg of their Champions League football semi-fil at home against Manchester City next Wednesday.

Real madrid were held to a goalless draw by Manchester City in the first leg match away at Manchester on Tuesday, reports Xinhua.

Roldo had participated in his side’s pre-game training session on Monday, but as soon as he stepped out on Tuesday for the pre-match warm up, he made a sigl to the bench that he would not be able to play.

The striker suffered the injury against Villarreal in a La Liga match and missed last Saturday’s 3-2 win away against Rayo Vallecano.

Benzema meanwhile was able to overcome a muscle problem, but didn’t look comfortable on the pitch and was replaced at half-time on Tuesday.

“Cristiano suffered a relapse and that is why he didn’t play,” explained Zidane in his post-game press conference.

“Karim’s problem was different, he was able to play but he felt worse as the game went on. We didn’t want to take risks, so we will see if he is able to play in the return leg.” The 0-0 draw means a win next week will take Madrid into the fil.

But the fact they failed to score an away goal leaves them open to the danger of Manchester City scoring at the Santiago Berbeu stadium in Madrid and leaving them needing to score twice in order to qualify. (IANS)