Cristiano Ronaldo will not be involved in Real Madrid's La Liga trip to Real Sociedad on Sunday, with coach Carlo Ancelotti revealing he wants the attacker to have two weeks off to recover full fitness.
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Ronaldo has been hampered by knee and thigh muscle injuries for months, and admitted himself while receiving UEFA's Best Player in Europe award for 2013-14 on Thursday that he was not at 100 percent at the moment.
The Portugal captain was on Friday left out of the national squad named by coach Paulo Bento for their upcoming Euro 2016 qualifier with Albania, and Madrid have now decided to take a similar approach, with Ronaldo now not due to play until the La Liga "derbi" at home to Atletico Madrid on September 13.
Ancelotti revealed the decision at Saturday's news conference ahead of the trip to San Sebastian, saying: "[Ronaldo] is good, but we have preferred to use this week and the next two to recover completely and have him in optimum condition for the game against Atletico Madrid and the Champions League.
"Tomorrow he will not play against Real Sociedad and he is not in the squad."
Ancelotti also said that former Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso's speedily sealed move to Bayern Munich this week, for about 10 million euros, had been a surprise.
"Everything was relaxed, but Xabi decided something else," he said. "It surprised us all, but as he said we respect him a lot. He is very honest with Madrid."
With Angel Di Maria also having left the Bernabeu this week, the former Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain coach suggested it was possible that at least one new player could arrive before the summer transfer window shuts.
"I do not need to sign anyone," Ancelotti said. "If we think there could be a signing which would improve the squad, we will do it. The market closes on Monday. Something could happen, or something might not happen."