Real Madrid team news ahead of Monchengladbach: Ramos, Carvajal, Jovic
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane will welcome back four players ahead of the two crunch ties against Monchengladbach and Atlético Madrid this week.
Having overcome the first difficulty that appeared on the horizon with victory against Sevilla, Zinedine Zidane can now concentrate on the other two “finals” that still remain.
First up is Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday before the derby against the unbeatable Atlético Madrid at the weekend. Los Rojiblancos have now stretched their unbeaten run in the league to 26 games, with 17 wins and nine draws. The last time Atlético lost, in fact, was at the Bernabéu against Madrid, where Benzema scored the game’s only goal.
Ramos and Carvajal
But Zidane has begun to see the light as several players make their way back from injury. To start with, he could welcome back two key figures in his defensive line, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal.
Ramos has already recovered from an injury to his right hamstring that has kept him out of the last five games. In fact, he could have played in the las two games (Shakhtar in Kiev and Sevilla at the Sánchez Pizjuán), but Zidane chose not to risk him knowing what was coming this week.
Meanwhile, Carvajal, who has not played since picking up a muscle injury on 27 November, has already returned to the grass at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground. The Madrid-born right back is pushing to be ready for Wednesday, but everything will depend on the next couple of training sessions. He has already suffered two muscle injuries this season and Zidane does not want to take any risks with him. But if he has fully recovered, he will play.
Odriozola and Jovic
Álvaro Odriozola and Luka Jovic will also be available. Having suffered a small muscle injury in his left calf, Odriozola suffered a relapse when he was about to return, and as a result has missed 12 games. Last week, he was back training with his team mates and made the squad for the trip to Sevilla on Saturday, although he did not feature. So far, he has played just 57 minutes this season in the win against Valladolid, but his reinstatement is another boost for Zidane.
For his part, Jovic returns to availability following his positive covid-19 diagnosis a few weeks ago. Before entering quarantine, the striker had put in three notable performances Serbia – scoring three goals and giving two assists in 230 minutes and expectations were that he could continue that run of form with Madrid.
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Fede Valverde continues his recovery
One player who remains on the injured list is Fede Valverde. The Uruguayan midfielder is undergoing intense recovery work (particularly physiotherapy) at the Valdebebas facilities, but it is most likely that he will not return until the end of 2020 or the start of 2021. The 22-year-old has already stepped on the Valdebebas grass and even began some individual ball work, but Zidane is always cautious with players coming back from injury.