Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini said on Saturday that his club would not miss Cristiano Ronaldo in Sunday's Primera Liga game away to Sevilla. Ronaldo misses the game after failing to recover from an ankle injury that he picked up playing against Olympique Marseilles in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The game in the Sanchez Pizjuan is Real Madrid's toughest game of the season to date. Sevilla is currently third in the league table with four wins from five matches, but Pellegrini is confident his side can get by without its star player.
"All of our players are important," said the Real coach.
"We have built a with the thought of being able to replace any player that has some physical problems. The team won't suffer because Cristiano is not there," he said.
Pellegrini was also at pains to stress that the decision to leave Ronaldo in Madrid was his and his alone.
"I was not influenced by our rival, not the state of the pitch nor Portugal," he said.
Portugal has two vital World Cup qualifying matches against Hungary and Malta the week after next and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has called Ronaldo to ensure he will be able to play.