According to reports in Marca, Juventus have received a boost ahead of their Champions League quarter-final meeting with Ajax as Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered in time to play. The Portuguese suffered an injury to his right thigh on March 25 but has remarkably returned to fitness ahead of schedule and will play at the Johan Cruyff Arena on April 10 unless he suffers a relapse.
Alarm bells rang in Turin when the No.7 fell injured on international duty and while initial tests ruled out fears of a serious injury, the forward was expected to miss the first leg of the Champions League tie.
But Cristiano has incredibly recovered already and will feature in Amsterdam as he goes in search of his sixth Champions League title. Juventus face AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday and while Ronaldo might play, he’s likely to be saved in order to avoid aggravating the injury.
In the other, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed the man management skills of his former coach at Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane. Under the Frenchman, the Portugal international won three consecutive Champions League trophies, before departing to The Old Lady last summer.
“I think Zidane knows how to handle the team in an intelligent way,” Ronaldo said in the documentary called ‘Zidane, Realement Madrid’ that RMC Sport 1 will broadcast on Wednesday. “it’s not an easy situation because all the players like to play a lot, but he knows how to work intelligently and he manages to involve all the team.”
Sergio Ramos is another player that praised his current coach in the documentary, highlighting Zidane’s success over the years: “Zidane’s career speaks for itself, both what he did as a player and what he does as a coach,” he noted. “He found a way to transfer the talent he had as a player to his role as coach and manage a dressing room. “He does a fantastic and unique job, and the results are not a coincidence.”