Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 6y

Real Madrid monitoring Keylor Navas injury day by day - Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said he will assess the fitness of Keylor Navas closely as he prepares to face Getafe on Saturday without his No. 1 goalkeeper.

Madrid will be without the injured Navas, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal and Mateo Kovacic although Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Theo Hernandez are back from injury absences.

Navas suffered an adductor muscle injury on international duty with Costa Rica, meaning back-up Kiko Casilla will start at Getafe.

With third choice Luca Zidane out with a shoulder problem, either 17-year-old Moha Ramos or Javier Belman, 18, will be on the bench.

Madrid face Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, and Zidane told a news conference: "I hope Keylor is not injured for many days.

"We will see day by day. Luca is out for a bit longer, as it is his shoulder. Kiko will play at Getafe and Moha and Belman will be in the squad."

Meanwhile, Zidane did not give a timing for Bale's return, saying: "He is good, better every day.

"He has had two things -- the first in Dortmund, which seemed to only be a bit of a strain, and then he felt something in his calf muscle.

"The good thing is that he wants to be back with us as soon as possible."

There is also no return date for Carvajal, who is recovering from an infection in the membrane around his heart and has been ordered by doctors to rest completely.

"With the heart it is not something to joke about," Zidane said. "We must have patience. He is feeling good, relaxed and he trusts in those who are in charge of his recovery.

"We want him at 100 percent -- it could be a week still, or two, but his health is the most important."

Saturday's visit to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez is Zidane's 100th game on the Madrid bench, and he said: "The difficult thing is when you lose, because you have not done well.

"The nicest was winning the Liga title. It has all been good times, but I choose this moment because that is the day to day, it is very difficult, and to win it is the biggest."

League leaders Barcelona travel to Atletico Madrid on Saturday evening, and Zidane said: "I want to beat Getafe, and then whatever happens happens. I do not want any particular result, although we want to cut the gap."

The coach said he "will not say what I think" about the political situation following Catalonia's unilateral independence referendum and added: "We are here to talk about football -- this is not the right place to talk about these things."

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