La Liga preview: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo out of weekend clash
Real Madrid will be without Cristiano Ronaldo for Saturday's La Liga game against second-bottom Almeria.
Last Updated: 11/04/14 5:52pm
The Portugal forward sat out the second leg of Real's UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, with coach Carlo Ancelotti claiming after the match that he was suffering only a minor problem and should be back in time for the weekend.
However, Ronaldo then underwent tests which "detected a muscular injury to his left hamstring", the club said, with reports in Spain suggesting he could be sidelined for around two weeks - which would rule him out of Wednesday's Copa del Rey final against Barcelona as well as possibly the first leg of the Champions League semi-final the following week.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Ancelotti said: "Cristiano is not available for the game against Almeria.
"He didn't get injured in Dortmund. He had already picked up a small injury.
"Cristiano could feature in the Copa del Rey final, but we won't take any risks. I don't know if he will play on Wednesday. We have to wait and see."
Real survived a huge scare en route to the last four as Dortmund won the second leg 2-0 to fall narrowly short of overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit.
Atletico Madrid also advanced to the semi-finals of Europe's premier club competition - for the first time - on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon.
And Los Rojiblancos coach Diego Simeone, whose side head into the weekend one point ahead of Barca and three clear of Real, has promised the league leaders will not be distracted by their Champions League heroics when they take on third-bottom Getafe on Saturday.
Speaking after the game, and before his team were drawn to face Chelsea in the semi-finals, the Argentinian told AStv: "We're not thinking about that (the draw). We're thinking about the Getafe game and then we'll prepare for whoever we face.
"We're not in a situation where we can choose. We're ready for whoever we're drawn against and the aim is to continue being competitive like we've been up to now."
Atletico's victory meant Barca missed out on the semi-finals for the first time in seven years.
Midfielder Andres Iniesta, who on Wednesday became the fifth Barcelona player to appear in 500 official games for the Catalan club, was gracious in defeat, and immediately turned his focus back to domestic matters.
Ahead of Saturday's trip to 15th-placed Granada, the Spain international tweeted: "Congrats to Atletico, deserved qualification, took their moments, especially first 20 minutes. We should analyse our performance.
"I was surprised to be subbed off, but the coach decides. Now we should refocus. We have another final on Saturday against Granada."
With fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao not in action until they host Malaga on Monday night, fifth-placed Sevilla could move within three points of the final Champions League berth by beating rock-bottom Real Betis in the Seville derby on Saturday.
The weekend's action gets underway on Friday night, when Osasuna and Real Valladolid - who occupy the final two positions of safety - go head to head in Pamplona.
In other games on Saturday, Celta Vigo host Real Sociedad and Villarreal take on Levante, while on Sunday Valencia take on Elche and Espanyol face Rayo Vallecano.
