PRE-SEASON
Will Arda Güler be fit to play for Real Madrid in the US Clásico against Barcelona?
Thibaut Courtois and Fede Valverde have also been carrying knocks ahead of the match against the LaLiga champions in Dallas.
Day one of Real Madrid’s stay in Dallas...and summer signing Arda Güler remains on the sidelines. The imposing AT&T Stadium opened its doors to Carlo Ancelotti’s team and two players in particular were in the spotlight: Thibaut Courtois and Güler. Neither has played a single minute of the US tour so far.
“Courtois has a little niggle so there’s no point in risking him. I think he’ll play in the next game. The same as Güler, who will also play soon”, revealed the Italian coach in the mixed zone after the win over Manchester United.
Ancelotti backtracks on Güler’s fitness
However, Ancelotti backtracked somewhat with regard to the Turkish teenager a few questions later: “If he isn’t available to play against Barcelona in El Clásico, he will be involved against Juventus”. After the first training session at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the clash on 2 August against the Italians would appear to be a more realistic target, although he hasn’t yet been ruled out of facing Barça on Saturday. Courtois, by contrast, did train normally and is in contention to start against the LaLiga champions.
The doubts over Güler’s fitness stemmed from the start of the session, with the 18-year-old initially training alongside his teammates before dropping out as soon as the intensity was stepped up, which was only a little with the team doing recovery work following the previous day’s match and Ancelotti testing a few things out.
Turkey international not comfortable during training
Güler instead worked with physio José Carlos García Parrales, with whom he also had some lengthy discussions. The attacking midfielder first did some light jogging before zigzagging across the field at a slightly faster pace, all the while gesturing that everything was OK.
However, after Ancelotti had come across to speak to the pair and Güler did some further running in the centre of the field, the Turkish international indicated that he wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable, even if it didn’t seem to be anything major.
In any case, the chances of him playing his first match for Real Madrid against Barcelona without having taken part in full training appear slim.
Valverde: muscle fatigue but should face Barcelona
Four other players did a lighter session than the rest of their teammates: Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Ferland Mendy and Joselu. The Uruguayan, who was voted MVP as he played the full 90 minutes against Milan, and then came on for the second half against United, stayed on the bench for the entire session due to muscle fatigue, although the feeling is that he will be able to feature against Barcelona.
Similarly, Camavinga, Mendy and Joselu, who didn’t complete the session, are carrying minor knocks which shouldn’t prevent them from playing. However, Ancelotti isn’t prepared to take any risks in pre-season, which is a time for players to gradually build up their fitness ahead of a long season, with rest equally important.