Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has revealed that he intends for Cristiano Ronaldo to play the full 90 minutes of Wednesday's Champions League group match against Sporting Lisbon.
Ronaldo missed the entirety of Los Blancos' pre-season preparations after picking up a knee injury in the final of Euro 2016, which also ruled him out of action in the opening weeks of the new campaign.
The 31-year-old played for an hour against Osasuna at the weekend, however, and Zidane has confirmed that, injury permitting, Ronaldo will start and finish the match against his former club.
"He is ready to play and we want him to be involved as much as possible," Zidane told reporters. "The idea is to play him for 90 minutes, we have no concerns but we are also adaptable. It will be a special match for Ronaldo [against his former club], that is natural."
Ronaldo joined Sporting from Nacional in 1997 and spent six years with the Portuguese club, just one of which was in the first team, where he scored five times in 31 appearances during the 2002-03 season.
The Portuguese's performance in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United convinced the English giants to sign the attacker in the summer of 2003, and he spent six seasons in the Premier League before making the move to Real Madrid.
Matt Law
