Robben to miss El Clasico

Thursday 23 April 2009 10:37 BST
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Arjen Robben has been ruled out of next month's El Clasico with yet another muscle injury.

The Netherlands international has been plagued with injuries since moving to Real Madrid from Chelsea and is set to be sidelined for up to three weeks after picking up his latest problem in Tuesday's win against Getafe.

It is the ninth time Robben has suffered from muscular trouble since joining Real.

Real host league leaders Barcelona at the Bernabeu in the first weekend of May.

Meanwhile, Pepe has hinted he could quit the game after the defender was sent off in the 3-2 win against Getafe.

The Portugal international was handed a red card after twice kicking out at Getafe’s Javier Casquero and had to be escorted off the pitch by team-mate Iker Casillas amid angry scenes.

“These are the worst days of my life. I do not have any desire to return to playing football,” he told Marca.

“I have seen the replays of the incident, but I do not recognise myself. I lost my cool and I went crazy, but that is not me.

“The worst punishment is going through what I’m experiencing now. If I see that there’s no chance of me returning to football again, then I will try something else.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o described Andres Iniesta as the best player in the world after the midfielder stole the show in Wednesday’s 4-0 demolition of Sevilla.

The result keeps Barca on track to win the La Liga title after Iniesta scored once and created the other three goals that sank Sevilla.

Cameroon international Eto’o said: “Whenever Iniesta steps on to the pitch, he creates a spectacle. He is the best player in the world.

“We focus on our own league and Madrid focus on theirs.

“It does not worry me where we win La Liga, the only thing that matters is to win it. Our purpose is to improve ourselves in every game and we are already achieving that.

“I just hope that we do not suffer any injuries and we can all play together until the end.”

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