Luka Modric is hoping to make his Real Madrid comeback in the Champions League final on 6 June after the Croatian midfielder was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury.
The Croatian, who only returned from three months out with a thigh injury five weeks ago, limped out of the 3-1 victory over Málaga on Saturday, with scans subsequently revealing that he had sprained a ligament in his right knee.
But despite being ruled out of Real’s remaining league fixtures, Modric remains hopeful he can still play a part in their attempt to win back to back Champions League titles.
“I’m going to try as hard as I can to turn this tough situation around,” he told the Croatian newspaper Sportske novosti .
“And I won’t hide the faith I have in my teammates; that they can get to the Champions League final, which is on 6 June.
“There’s no other choice. I’m not giving up on this season yet. I had some fantastic times from August to November. Then there was a break, then another long injury and now another. There’s no reason not to believe I can have a good end to the season.”
Real face city rivals Atlético in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu having drawn the first leg 0-0. Modric played all 90 minutes of that match and had looked to be getting back to his best form.
However the former Tottenham midfielder admitted getting injured at such a crucial stage of the season was a bitter pill to swallow.
He said: “It’s really tough getting injured now. I’m really down, because it’s a new injury and this is when everything is decided. I have to pull myself together and start working on my recovery. After the injury blow in November, I fought really hard to get fit and everything seemed to be going great this first month.
“I felt very close to being able to help out just when things were starting to be decided at the end of the season, and then I get hit by this new nightmare. But I have to react immediately. I have to look at the positive side of things and motivate myself with the desire to return before the season ends.”
