Bale & Benzema Could Miss Super Cup Along With Ronaldo

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane may have to do without all three of his first-choice forwards for the UEFA Super Cup clash against Sevilla in Norway next week.
Cristiano Ronaldo will definitely miss the match in Trondheim after injuring his knee ligaments in the final of Euro 2016 on July 10.
The Portuguese is still on holiday and returns to training on August 10, a month after winning the continental competition with Portugal in France, and Zidane said on Wednesday night that there will be no rush to bring him back into the team.
“Right now he still has his injury,” the Frenchman said after Madrid beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the teams’ International Champions Cup clash in New York. “Obviously he wants to be back but we need patience and for him to be calm. He will be back with us soon in Madrid.”
However, as Real step up their preparations for the Super Cup, both Bale and Benzema could also be absent from the starting XI.
Like Ronaldo, the Welsh winger is still on holiday after helping his national team to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and he returns on August 5, just four days ahead of the Super Cup.
Toni Kroos and Pepe are also back that day, but when Zidane was asked whether they would feature in the Super Cup, he said: “No, I don’t think so. They still have to come back. We will see in Madrid.”
Bale has been keeping fit on his time off, though, and posted a video of himself in action in Wales on his Twitter account, in which he curls a long-range shot into the top corner.
Zidane was more optimistic about Benzema as he said: “Karim will be with us and then we’ll see. Let’s hope he can play the Super Cup. He is doing better and he has trained with us.”
However, the France forward did not feature in any of Madrid’s matches in the International Champions Cup, sitting out the 3-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain and the wins over Chelsea (3-2) and Bayern (1-0) due to a hip problem.
His presence in next Tuesday’s game is therefore doubtful, with Alvaro Morata set to start after returning to the club in a buy-back deal from Juventus this summer, despite not scoring in pre-season.
“I’m not worried about Morata not scoring,” Zidane said. “He gives us a little bit of everything and the goals will come. As I have always said, what counts in the group is the collective work.”
With Jese on the verge of a move to PSG, Zidane could decide to pick Lucas Vazquez and James Rodriguez, who both started alongside Morata against Bayern.
Marco Asensio, who has impressed for Los Blancos in pre-season and played the second half on Wednesday, is another alternative as Madrid look to start the season as they finished the last one – by winning another trophy.
“The team is ready for the Super Cup,” Zidane said. “After three games and three weeks of work, we are prepared to play on Tuesday. It will be our first important match.”