Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that Real Madrid teammate Jese Rodriguez's season-ending knee injury is "very bad news" for the club.
The Spanish Under-21 international has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Bernabeu, scoring eight times in all competitions for Los Blancos.
However, it was confirmed late last night that the attacker will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the 3-1 Champions League win over Schalke 04.
"I want to send a lot of encouragement to Jese," Ronaldo told reporters.
"He had become a very important player to us and always did well when he played. He will be important for us again in future but the truth is it is very bad news for him and for the locker room."
Ronaldo scored twice in the victory over Schalke, which secured Madrid's spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.
