Madrid, Oct 30 (EFE).– Costa Rican Keylor Navas, who is recovering from a strained muscle in his right leg, completed training at Real Madrid’s sports complex in Valdebebas at a session that Frenchman Karim Benzema missed.

Coach Rafa Benitez has to decide whether to include Keylor Navas in the starting line-up for Saturday’s league game against Las Palmas or rest the goalkeeper so he can recover fully from his injury and select Kiko Casilla for his first game in La Liga’s First Division.

The Costa Rican participated normally in the last practice session before the match to be played at Santiago Bernabeu together with James Rodriguez and Alvaro Arbeloa, who are both training again with the first team.

Benzema, who had hoped to be ready for this weekend’s game, did not train with his teammates. Also missing were Gareth Bale and Dani Carvajal.

Youth system players Marcos Llorente, Borja Mayoral, Martin Odegaard and keeper Carlos Abad joined Benitez’s men for the day. EFE

UPDATE 10:12 AM, LOCAL TIME IN COSTA RICA

Madrid, Oct 30 (EFE).– Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez confirmed in a press conference on Friday that Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema will miss the Las Palmas game in matchday 10 of the Spanish league with an eye on the upcoming big matches, such as PSG in the Champions League and Sevilla in La Liga.

Benitez had to make a decision and publicly made no secret that he would not force the return of any of his players, such as Costa Rican Keylor Navas, who is out with a muscle strain, and Sergio Ramos, who continues to suffer from pain in his shoulder, nor would he choose James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema, who have nearly recovered from their problems.

“Our priority is always to do the best for Real Madrid and the players. Keylor has a strained muscle and we will not risk him or with Sergio Ramos, James and Benzema. They could force themselves, but we do not want that because we have many games coming up and we have the resources for the next game,” Benitez said.

Real’s coach confirmed that James was recovering well, but he preferred to wait and let him improve his fitness and muscle strength in practice so he can return after almost two months out with a recurring thigh injury.

“James is increasing his workload and involvement with the team. That is how we want him to progress. Today, he felt good, he is getting better and if he continues like this on Monday we will assess whether he is ready or not. He is coming along quite well, I am optimistic,” the Spaniard said.

It was a similar situation for Benitez when he talked about Benzema.

“He’s improving but obviously in the end the player must be fully convinced that he is 100 percent fit and we will evaluate his situation,” the coach said.

Benitez confirmed that although the initial plan was for the Frenchman to return against Las Palmas for several minutes, that option was rejected.

“Today, he was going to play, but to put him in a game when he still needs more time is a little risky. Next week, he will complete full training sessions with the team and everything will be fine because the feeling is positive,” the coach said. EFE