Butragueno hopes to have Real stars back for Juve semi
Emilio Butragueno hopes Real Madrid will have some of their injured stars back for the UEFA Champins League semi-final clash with Juventus.
Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno is hopeful the UEFA Champions League holders will be able to call on their currently injured players when they face Juventus in this year's semi-finals.
In Friday's draw in Nyon, Real were paired with Juve, in a repeat of the 1998 final, which was won 1-0 by the Spanish giants.
The sides will meet in Turin in the first leg, before heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu the following week, with a place in the final against either Barcelona or Bayern Munich at stake.
Real are currently without Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema through injury, but Butragueno hopes the trio will be back in contention come the opening leg in early May.
"It will be a very tough semi. Congratulations to Juventus and it will be an honour for Madrid as well," he said.
"If we get some players back from injury it will be better but it will be a tough semi-final nevertheless.
"Last year in theory we had the hardest draw and yet it turned out to be a straightforward tie against Bayern. We will play a great opponent, who defends well and is prepared tactically to give their all.
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"We play the return leg at home, which could be an advantage for us, and of course we will try and get ahead when we go away.
"We will do all we can to please our fans. We go into a fascinating semi-final, with two very experienced sides and top quality players."