Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti played down speculations about the health issue surrounding superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been bothered by injuries over the past several weeks.
Ronaldo had an impressive season debut for Real Madrid as he scored twice in their 2-0 win against Sevilla in the European Supercup on Aug. 13, but was surprisingly used sparingly in their 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercup on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old striker was substituted before the second half of the match started, creating speculation that Ronaldo is still bothered by the left knee tendinitis that slowed him down towards the end of the 2013-14 season.
Ancelotti quickly doused cold water to the rumors, saying that Ronaldo was bothered by a hurting hamstring, which he thinks is not too serious to become a major concern for the club.
"Cristiano had a strain and after the first half was not comfortable," Ancelotti said via ESPN FC. "We will evaluate it tomorrow, and do the tests. At first it does not seem so serious."
Ancelotti also talked about his team's performance against Atletico Madrid, uttering praises for his squad, particularly for their performance in the first half. Real Madrid were on the verge of winning after James Rodriguez netted a goal in the 81st minute, but Raul Garcia scored an equalizer for Atletico in the 88th minute.
"In the first half we were pretty good," said Ancelotti, whose team needs to score on the road against Atletico to keep their chances of winning the Supercup alive. "We were in control of the game throughout, the team played very well, above all in midfield where the three played well. Atletico have a small advantage as we need to score at the Calderon. We have the possibility of scoring goals there, and we are going to try that. If we can repeat today's game, we will win the Supercopa."
