Zinedine Zidane says that he is calm about the injury crisis currently affecting the Real Madrid team.

The recent injuries to Marcelo and Casemiro mean that the Madrid are going through a crisis at the back. Centre back Pepe has also been out for a considerable amount of time. He suffered the injury while playing against Espanyol. Casemiro may be out for a considerable amount of time after having fractured his fibula. Marcelo is suffering from calf muscle strain and is unlikely to make it to the game this weekend.

The injury situation is especially difficult for Zidane considering that he had just now welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale back into the first-team. Both players were involved in the final of the Euro 2016 and were not involved in pre-season due to injuries and tiredness. Despite the issues, Madrid have made a great start to the campaign after dropping only two points in the opening five games. This coupled with Barcelona’s shock losses mean that Madrid have emerged as early leaders in the La Liga title race. Zidane managed to win the Champions League title in his first season at the club, but he faces the biggest objective of reclaiming the league title from the hands of Barcelona.

“We always have injuries to deal with. We do not want it to happen, but this forms part of football, it happens in all squads.It does not worry me. The injuries hurt the player, and the team, but I have players who can replace them very well. There will be moments in the season which are a bit more difficult, with more injuries, and we must be ready to take decisions and manage this. I never like when someone is injured.Even more when they are starting players — like Casemiro and Marcelo,” said Zidane.