Spain boss Enrique calms Ramos injury fears

Reuters - Spain coach Luis Enrique said captain Sergio Ramos was withdrawn at halftime in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Greece in a World Cup qualifier to manage his minutes on the pitch, not because of an injury to the Real Madrid defender.

Enrique said Ramos, who had knee surgery in February, would be available for their next two Group B games against Georgia and Kosovo.

Ramos was replaced by Athletic Bilbao centre back Inigo Martinez, who conceded the penalty which Greece skipper Anastasios Bakasetas netted to cancel out Alvaro Morata's opener.

"Sergio Ramos is perfectly fine," Enrique said. "He didn't play the last game with his club due to a blow.

"We had already decided in advance that he would only play the first half and he is perfectly fine. He is available for the following games."

The match in Granada was Spain's first since their 6-0 win over Germany in the Nations League in November. Enrique said his team, who had 78% of possession but rarely threatened the Greek goal, were rusty.

"The game against Germany was four months ago," Enrique added. "It is normal that the level of the players may vary, they have ups and downs.

"We have to analyse the game and see what we can improve. The numbers indicate we clearly dominated. The only downside was we have lacked freshness and the capacity to create more chances."

Spain travel to Georgia for their second qualifier on Sunday, before hosting Kosovo on Wednesday.