Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has played down the severity of the injury suffered by Cristiano Ronaldo during his side's 7-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna this afternoon.
Ronaldo was caught by defender Fabian Schar when diving to head home Madrid's sixth goal of the rout, forcing him to temporarily leave the pitch with blood streaming down his face.
Zidane revealed that the injury is nothing serious, though, while also paying tribute to two-goal Gareth Bale after watching his side come from behind to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga.
"He has got a wound and I think he's been given two or three stitches. He's all right. I always want to have all of my players available. Whenever they're not around, it makes me unhappy," he told reporters.
"We're without two centre-backs at the moment and I'm not happy about it. That's the way it goes in football.
"We need to remind ourselves that when one player gets injured, we've always someone else to come in and do a good job. I'm happy for Gareth because he's producing some consistent performances.
"It's always great and a positive feeling to win, netting seven goals at home. It's not every day you get seven goals at the Bernabeu, so we're thrilled with that today."
Despite the emphatic nature of the win, Real Madrid remain 16 points behind Barcelona in the table.
Barney Corkhill
