Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has defended Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese forward was lampooned on social media for using a doctor's mobile phone to inspect a cut to his face.
Ronaldo took the blow from opposition defender Fabian Schaer as he stooped to head in Madrid's sixth goal – his second – in the side's 7-1 La Liga victory over strugglers Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend.
The 32-year-old remained down and was immediately attended to by the club’s medical staff who escorted him off the pitch. It was as he exited the playing field that he was pictured holding the doctor’s mobile to examine the damage the challenge had caused and did not return for the final 10 minutes.
“We can’t control what people say. He just took the phone to have a look at what had happened, to see if it was a big or small cut – that’s all,” Zidane told a news conference.
“He wanted to know whether or not he could continue or not; that’s what he told us in the dressingroom and for me that’s it. They stitched him up and now he’s coming back. The fact he’s training with his eye as it is shows just how important it is for him to play.”
The injury means Ronaldo will miss Real's Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg at home to local rivals Leganes on Wednesday. Zidane's side hold a 1-0 advantage from the first match courtesy of a late Marco Asensio goal.
