After a couple days off to recuperate after some tough matches, Real Madrid has been working at the Valadebebas training ground, preparing for Melilla and the Copa Del Rey on Thursday. The club was without three key players who remain injured.
Manager Santiago Solari will have to juggle his lineup once again due to the large number of injuries amongst the squad. Both yesterday and today, Los Blancos were without holding midfielder Toni Kroos as well as central defensive midfielder Casemiro and center back Nacho Fernandez who remain on the mend.
Kroos was unable to play in Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Valencia this past weekend after feeling some discomfort in the final training session before the La Liga match. Dani Ceballos replaced Kroos and performed admirably in 80 minutes on the pitch.
Although it was announced as nothing more than a minor tweak, the German international has been training away from his teammates longer than expected. Training inside the facility while being closely monitored by the training staff, it is unknown if Kroos can go tomorrow afternoon.
Due to his absence from the full training and thanks to the comfort of the 4-0 aggregate lead, I would not expect to see the number eight in the squad for the Copa Del Rey.
This may be the toughest month of the season for Real Madrid with the number of matches and competitions they will be playing in.
The club will play four matches in the next 10 days in three different competitions – the Copa Del Rey, La Liga, and the Champions League. Shortly thereafter, the Real Madrid squad will jump on a plane to the United Arab Emirates in search of a third consecutive FIFA Club World Cup shortly before Christmas.
Los Blancos will play its first Culb World Cup match on the 19th in the semifinal of the tournament.
Hopefully, Casemiro will be able to make his return prior to that trip. The Brazilian has been out since the November 12th win over Celta Vigo on the road. Casemiro suffered a rather significant ankle injury and continues his limited training regiment.
Nacho, who is dealing with a knee problem, is still about a month away from making his return to lineup leaving Solari and his team a little short staffed at the back.
Forward Gareth Bale was forced off in the 63rd minute in the home win over Valencia and trained outside, but was separate from the rest of the team.
All four of the players are not expected to make an appearance tomorrow afternoon against Melilla with many Castilla players ready to be called on by the manager.