Zidane's plan to keep Modric fresh
At the age of 32, Luka Modric must now start to take care of his body like never before. Thankfully for the Croatian, Zinedine Zidane is on hand to ensure that he remains in tip-top condition.
The Frenchman successfully talked Cristiano Ronaldo into the benefits of being rested ahead of key games last season and it appears that he has now worked his magic with Modric too.
So far this campaign, Modric has been rested the weekend before every Champions League game, to ensure that he is fit and firing in Europe's premier club competition.
The latest example came in Saturday's victory over Getafe, when Marcos Llorente was given a start, with Modric only placed on the bench in case of an emergency.
Tuesday's game against former club Tottenham at the Bernabeu promises to be an emotional encounter for the 32-year-old and he should be more than ready for the occasion.
Previously, Modric also failed to feature against Alaves (The game before Real played Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League) and Levante (The game that preceded Real's Champions League opener).
So far, everything is going to plan for Zidane in Europe. Modric played well against APOEL first time out before shining against Dotmund in Germany, setting up Ronaldo to score Real's third.
Modric has played 784 minutes of football for Real so far this season, making him the club's seventh most used player.
The arrival of Ceballos, the return of Llorente and Asensio's development have allowed Zidane to pick and choose when to play Modric, not that he'll be looking to wind his career down quite yet.