Real Madrid will get Toni Kroos and Marcos Llorente back before the match with Girona
By Ben Sundock
Yes, you are reading that headline correctly! Real Madrid is getting players back healthy just before the Champions League knockout stage begins in just under a month. Three injured players were back on the training pitch on Tuesday and could play on Thursday in the Copa Del Rey.
Manager Santiago Solari had what seemed like a plethora of first-team players back in training today, giving him a huge boost ahead of the Copa Del Rey quarterfinal first-leg against Girona.
Marcos Llorente, who has been out since the FIFA Club World Cup final, returned to full team training on Monday and continued fitness work on Tuesday. He was joined by Toni Kroos, who has been out since the first match of 2019 against Villarreal, and Mariano Diaz, who hasn’t played since the end of November in the Champions League.
After working inside with the Real Madrid training staff, the fit players worked on possession and ball movement with Solari and his staff on the outdoor pitch with the temperature hovering around seven celsius.
All three players are expected to be at least on the squad list for the home leg against Girona in two days. Llorente and Mariano could both be called upon to give Casemiro and Karim Benzema a match off after carrying the load for several weeks.
Even though three players could be back in the coming week, there are still several players who remain on the mend.
Keylor Navas, Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, and Jesús Vallejo were all noticeably absent from Tuesday’s session and none are expected back in time for Thursday’s match. For Bale and Asensio, it is assumed that they will be back by the end of next week.
There have been no indications given by the club or medical staff when exactly Vallejo and Navas will be back playing and it is tough to make a guess as to when that will be.
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Two Real Madrid Castilla players, Javi Sanchez and Cristo, worked with the first-team and today and will likely be on the squad list for the CdR match. While it is good for Real Madrid to get a few players back healthy, there are still big names on the unable to play list.
The forward line needs some depth desperately. Yes, Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Júnior have performed admirably in Bale and Asensio’s absence, however, they can’t be playing a full match every three to four days.