The world player of the year received rough treatment as he scored the winner in the Club World Cup final over Brazilians Gremio last weekend, but Ronaldo had insisted he would be fit for the lunchtime visit of league leaders Barca.
Ronaldo didn’t train with the rest of the Madrid squad on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday as a precaution.
Madrid will need Ronaldo in the form he has shown of late having scored five goals in his last four games as the European champions look to claw their way back into the title race.
Zinedine Zidane’s men trail Barca by 11 points and are in fourth place also behind Atletico Madrid and Valencia, but they do have a game in hand on their rivals.
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