The 31-year-old is still recovering from the knee injury which forced him to limp out of the Euro 2016 final against France in the first half, coach Fernando Santos said.
Cristiano Ronaldo shows no signs of flagging as he approaches his mid-30s but there are plenty of other worries for a team with an ageing central defence and a number of players struggling for form.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi on Saturday missed out on their second ATP Tour title of the season as they lost the final of the Nice event in France despite a rollicking start. Bopanna and Qureshi had grabbed a one-set lead in quick time but could not survive the counter-attack of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares to lose 6-1, 3-6, 5-10 in one hour and 13 minutes.
Tibetan refugees in India face a bleak future, says Greg C Bruno.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna got past Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova in the mixed-doubled match as Indian Aces edged past Singapore Slammers in the UAE leg of the International Premier Tennis League on Thursday.
India's Sania Mirza put herself in contention for a seventh Grand Slam title as she breezed into the Australian Open mixed doubles final with Ivan Dodig, beating local favourites Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth in Melbourne on Friday.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
In a first for ATK Mohun Bagan this season, two first-half goals signalled the downfall for a beleaguered Bengaluru FC
RB Leipzig scored twice in the opening 13 minutes but had to survive a late comeback from Manchester United to cling on to a 3-2 win on Tuesday that sent them into the Champions League knockout stage and eliminated the English side.
When is comes to Indian tennis, it has to be the year of Sania Mirza! The Hyderabadi ace set aside all controversies and soared. Having overcome career-threatening injuries she was back to winning ways. Sania won her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title and wrapped up a dream season with the year-end finale trophy even as India's established male tennis players found the going tough in 2014.
A round-up of Saturday's qualifying matches for the Euro 2020 Finals.
VfB Stuttgart continued their unbeaten run under new coach Thomas Schneider on Friday, climbing to sixth with a 1-1 home draw against Nuremberg who are still looking for their first Bundesliga win of the season.
Barcelona's inconsistency over the season had cost them the La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique has said.
IMAGES from all the Bundesliga action on Saturday.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
Leander Paes kept the Indian challenge alive at the French Open. Partnering Lukas Dlouhy, he advanced to the men's doubles semi-finals on Monday after a thwarting a late challenge from fifth seeds Bruno Soares of Brazil and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe. The Indo-Czech duo won 6-2, 7-6(5) to set up a meeting with either top seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada/Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia or Russians Igor Kunitsyn/Dmitry Tursunov in the semi-finals.
The forward was again the stand-out Brazil player and he coolly side-footed home his 60th international goal in the 76th minute after Diego Laxalt brought down Danilo, although Uruguay claimed there was a handball in the build-up.
Honda's chief executive apologised to British driver Jenson Button after Japan's number two carmaker pulled the plug on its Formula One team on Friday. "It's a real shame and I feel deeply sorry for Jenson Button," the CEO of Honda Motor Co Takeo Fukui told a news conference. 'We had no choice in the current financial conditions.'
The apology, tendered by Right Reverend J Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, is arguably the first of its kind by a major Christian congregation, and was issued 'for centuries-old acts of religious discrimination by Christians, including attempts to convert them.'
It was mixed fortunes for Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles at the Wimbledon on Monday.
Others named in the chargesheet include alleged European middlemen in the deal, Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.
Leander Paes and Martina Hingis eased into the mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Wimbledon championships but it was curtains for Rohan Bopanna and his Spanish partner Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Manchester United kept up their impressive chase for a top-four spot with a comfortable 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Aston Villa in the English Premier League on Thursday. Relegation-threatened Bournemouth had a late goal disallowed by VAR as they had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Brazilian Bruno Senna, nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, made his test debut for Honda in a new-look Formula One at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Monday.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
Genoa ended a seven-match run without a Serie A victory by winning 1-0 at Lazio on Monday after the hosts had goalkeeper Federico Marchetti sent off in the first half.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello moved to console compatriot Bruno Senna on Monday after beating him to the last remaining seat in Formula One with the Brawn GP team. Barrichello, the sport's most experienced driver who was close to Senna's uncle Ayrton before the triple champion died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, said the youngster has an obvious future in the sport.
Grandmaster Vidit Santosh Gujrathi came good when it mattered most and defeated Marius Monalache of Romania to emerge as the best performing Indian in the Cappelle La Grande International Chess tournament that concluded in Cappelle La Grande, France.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Brazilian striker Ronaldo is set to return inside a month from the knee injury that has sidelined him since February, his physio Bruno Mazziotti said.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Porto beat an under-strength Arsenal side 2-0 on Wednesday to clinch top spot in Group G of the Champions League. With the two teams already guaranteed a place in the first knockout round, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, in his 700th game in charge of the London side, rested several first choice players and chose to field young reserves instead.
India's boxers are remembered only during a big event, says Olympics medal hope Akhil Kumar. 'Before and after that no one cares.'
Yuki Bhambri and his New Zealand partner Michael Venus registered a straight sets victory on their Grand Slam debut, but Divij Sharan's Australian Open campaign ended in the first round, in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Former Brazil and Inter Milan striker Adriano could be the latest high-profile footballer to join Indian Super League.
Reuben NV shared these pictures of floats from Panjim.
Real Madrid on top because of performances, not referees, says coach Zidane.
Atletico de Kolkata got their act right in the nick of time to humble crowd favourites FC Goa 4-2 in tie-breaker and advance to the final of the inaugural Indian Super League. Kolkata will lock horns with Kerala Blasters FC in the summit showdown at the D Y Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
