Real Madrid's Aitor Karanka: It is too soon for Hamit Altintop to play

The 38-year-old revealed that the Turkish midfielder has not yet regained full fitness and will not play against Ajax at the Bernabeu

Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka says Hamit Altintop will not be risked in Tuesday's Champions League clash against Ajax.



"It is too soon for him to play, though we will have to wait for tomorrow [Tuesday]," he said at a press conference.



The Turkey international joined Madrid from Bayern Munich in the summer, but has yet to feature for the club after undergoing a back operation in the pre-season.



Altintop has been included in the Bernabeu outfit's 21-man squad for the match against the Dutch champions, prompting suggestions he could finally make his debut for the Spanish outfit.



But Karanka, who will deputize for the suspended Jose Mourinho in Tuesday's game, has stressed that the 28-year-old will not be rushed back into action.



"Altintop has been working well and he needs to be with the team and to get used to the dynamics of the group, this will be good for him," explained Karanka.



Real Madrid was very critical of the work of referee Svein Oddvar Moen in their 1-0 Champions League victory at Dinamo Zagreb, and Karanka expects that Mark Clattenburg will do a better job on Tuesday.



"I hope that after the game, only the result and what happened on the pitch will be talked about," Karanka noted.



"But if there are things that are as evident as the incidents that have occurred, and if there are members of the squad who have protested against them, we will keep following the same line."



Karanka went on to hail the players' mental fortitude after they came back from behind to earn a convincing 6-2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend.



"It is hard to win the match after being down 1-0 in the opening minutes, especially after two bad results," he added.



"All our players have enormous quality, they overcame everything and they won the match with authority."



Madrid beat Ajax twice in the group stage of the 2010-11 Champions League, but Karanka stated he is not expecting a walk in the park against the Eredivisie side.



"They come into the game better than last year," the assistant coach noted. "They have one more year on their shoulders and we expect a more complicated match than the one from last year."

