Cristiano Ronaldo Illness: Real Madrid Star out vs. Espanyol with Flu

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is going to miss Sunday's league clash against Espanyol while recovering from the flu. 

Gill Clark of Goal reported on Saturday that head coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed the superstar's absence due to illness after just recently returning from a knee injury. The Los Blancos boss expects the dynamic forward should return to full fitness in time for Wednesday's match against Villarreal.

The former Manchester United man missed the start of the campaign due to an injury suffered in the final of the UEFA European Championship in the summer. He quickly netted his first LaLiga goal of the new campaign in his first league match of the new term, though.

Deployed on the left flank, Ronaldo has freedom to roam into dangerous positions under manager Zinedine Zidane. It’s a license that allows the forward to score not just a lot of goals, but different types of goals.

While the 31-year-old is unique in terms of his natural goalscoring instincts and irreplaceable in that sense, Madrid have players who can step in when Ronaldo isn’t available. Alvaro Morata and Karim Benzema are both sharp in front of goal and could be thrust into even larger roles on Sunday.

Additionally, Isco, James Rodriguez, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio are all adept at doing a fine job from the left flank.

Ronaldo offers more than just goals for Madrid, though. He’s become a leader, focal point and talisman for the side, even more so since Zidane took over. The manager will be desperate to see Ronaldo back at full tilt again soon as Los Blancos go in search of more glory in 2016/17.