La Liga: Ronaldo returns for Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon

Real given welcome boost as injuries, suspension deplete side.

MADRID: World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo returns for a Real Madrid side otherwise stricken by injuries and suspensions as they look to beat Atletico Madrid for the first time in six meetings this season on Saturday.

Ronaldo completed his two-game ban for kicking out at Cordoba defender Edimar as the European champions sneaked past Sevilla to open up a four-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the table on Wednesday.

However, victory came at a cost as World Cup star James Rodriguez broke a bone in his right foot that will keep him out for two months, while centre-back Sergio Ramos will also be sidelined due to a hamstring problem in the coming weeks.

Left-back Marcelo, meanwhile, will also miss the Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon after an appeal against his fifth yellow card of the Liga campaign was dismissed on Thursday.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti is short of defensive options with Pepe also out with a rib injury, but insisted he has confidence in the inexperienced pairing of Raphael Varane and Nacho in central defence.

“What we lose above all is experience, but sometimes enthusiasm is a good thing,” said Ancelotti. “The two of them [Varane and Nacho] give me a lot of confidence. Ramos and Pepe are among the best defenders in the world, but I am not worried.”

Atletico have bounced back from their heartbreaking Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real last season to beat them in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey over two legs this season, as well as winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga earlier in the campaign.

However, defeat this weekend would see them fall 10 points behind the league leaders and all but end their defence of the title.

“We want to win, we always want to win and even more so against Real Madrid,” said Atletico defender Diego Godin. “It is a different game and just because we have won the previous games doesn’t mean we will win this one.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th,  2015.

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