Rodrygo misses Real Madrid training: will he play against Atlético in the Copa del Rey?

It looked as if there might be an unexpected piece bad news for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey round of 16 against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano (Thursday 18 January, 3:30 p.m. ET). Rodrygo was unable to take part in the last pre-match training session with the rest of his teammates and was instead seen chatting to head coach Carlo Ancelotti, fuelling speculation he could miss the derby cup tie.

“Back to his best” Rodrygo “available to play”

However, in a press conference before the game, the Italian revealed the Brazilian attacker would be playing despite being unable to train. “He needed a day of less intensity. He’ll be OK tomorrow. He’ll be available to play”.

Ancelotti also took a moment to praise the 23-year-old, who has been in fine form in recent weeks after a slow start to the season. “He’s doing really well, he’s in good form. He was a difference-maker in the Spanish Super Cup. He’s back to his best.”

Real Madrid injury update: Militão, Courtois, Alaba, Vázquez...

All members of the roster are available for Thursday’s game, with the exception of Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba, who are all recovering from ACL tears, and Lucas Vázquez, who Ancelotti revealed would be back in full training on Friday.

Several players are thought to be suffering from some muscle fatigue, which means there could be some changes to the starting lineup. Youth team players Diego Piñeiro, Hugo Mantecón, Edgar Pujol, Vinicius Tobias, Mario Martín and Álvaro Rodríguez were all involved in the last training session and could be in contention for places on the bench.

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