Cristiano, Varane, Morata, Kroos: positive injury news for Zidane

There was good news for Zinedine Zidane in Real Madrid's first training session of the week, as Toni Kroos and Álvaro Morata did individual work with ball at feet.

Morata and Kroos progressing well

Morata came back from Spain duty with a grade II hamstring strain two weeks ago, while the German midfielder broke a bone in his foot against Leganés in early November.

Both players are making positive progress, and are thought to be in contention to return earlier than initially estimated - although they're not likely to make Saturday's El Clásico.

Striker Morata was originally expected to be sidelined for about a month, while Kroos' recovery period had been anticipated to be approximately six weeks.

Cristiano and Varane train as normal

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo trained at the same intensity as his team-mates on Monday, despite ending Real's weekend win over Sporting Gijón with muscle discomfort.

Defender Raphael Varane also went through his paces with the group, having been a last-minute injury withdrawal from the Sporting clash.

Danilo and Fabio Coentrao trained indoors at Madrid's Valdebebas base, with the Portuguese full-back bidding to overcome a hamstring problem.

Bale set to go under the knife

Gareth Bale, who on Tuesday is to undergo surgery in London on ruptured ankle tendons, continued his rehabilitation.