Having won the first leg of the Copa del rey clash against Sevilla 3-0, Cristiano has not travelled with the rest of the Madrid squad to the Andalusian capital.for Thursday's second leg showdown.
The idea is to give Ronaldo a rest as the tie is effectively already decided. Ronaldo and manager Zinedine Zidane recently agreed that the winner of FIFA's 'The Best' award will not play in dead rubbers in order to preserve his energy for more important clashes.
Along with the former Manchester United star, Luka Modric has also been rested for the tie. Marco Asensio has returned to the squad and will probably start against Jorge Sampaoli's side.
Real Madrid squad to play Sevilla
Keylor Navas, Casilla, Yanez, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Coentrao, Danilo, Kroos, Casemiro, Kovacic, Asensio, Enzo, Benzema, Lucas Vazquez, Mariano, Morata.