Real Madrid Hip concerns have sidelined Welshman

A shadow has been cast over preparations ahead of Sunday's visit to Espanyol, due to the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

The Wales international was missing from the session at the club's Valdebebas training ground on Friday following a hip injury sustained during the Champions League win over Sporting Lisbon in midweek.

Ronaldo was also a notable omission as he undertook recovery work, following two games in the space of a week, in efforts to maintain his rehabilitation from a knee injury which sidelined him for the start of the season.

It appears certain that Bale will miss the trip to Barcelona as Zinedine Zidane looks to extend Real's place atop LaLiga as well as setting a new club record with a 16th consecutive domestic victory.

Los Blancos are expected to turn to either James Rodriguez or Lucas Vazquez, who both made substitute appearances against Sporting, to fill the void in his absence.

Fabio Coentrao's return, meanwhile, will provide fresh options at left-back after overcoming the thigh problem which ended his hopes of appearing at Euro 2016.

Zidane will assess the Portuguese's fitness before deciding on whether to include him for Sunday's game.