We Must Be Careful With Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno has stressed the importance of taking things slowly and not rushing Cristiano Ronaldo back to action after seven weeks on the sidelines as he says "a relapse would be scary". Dutch doctor Niek van Dijk gave the Portuguese star the all-clear to return to full training this week and he is expected to train with his team on Friday ahead of the weekend Primera Liga tie against Racing Santander. "I feel that Cristiano wants to play now and that enthusiasm can be detrimental because a relapse would be scary," he declared to Marca. "We must go slowly, Cristiano has had many days without training. It's not enough that the ankle is good but it must have the necessary reinforcement to compete. "Cristiano Ronaldo is a great professional, he is a winner and has a commitment to the club and does everything possible to return, but when he returns he cannot have a relapse." Butragueno also suggested that the absence of Ronaldo from Los Merengues lineup for seven weeks was always likely to have an effect, and added that Barcelona would suffer a similar loss if Lionel Messi were injured. "Cristiano is one of the best players in the world and it's normal for a team to notice his absence for so long. Barcelona is compact and mature, but if, suddenly, for seven weeks they did not have Messi, it is logical that they would notice too," he remarked.