Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde remains a doubt for Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Villarreal, despite not being ruled out of the match at Santiago Bernabeu.
Valverde is still training indoors as he continues his recovery from a third-degree ankle sprain suffered during the Madrid derby on 20 September. The Uruguay international has not yet returned to training with his team-mates, making his involvement against Villarreal appear unlikely.
Real Madrid’s priority will be ensuring Valverde is fit for their Champions League match against Roma next Wednesday if he is unable to play this weekend.
The squad trained on Thursday morning with all of the club’s international players involved. However, Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella worked separately from the main group and are not expected to join their team-mates until Friday, one day before the Villarreal fixture, according to Marca.
Raul Asencio, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo continued with their individual recovery programmes and remain confirmed absentees for the time being.
There was more positive news for Real Madrid regarding Kylian Mbappe and Ibrahima Konate. Mbappe, who was injured in France’s opening match during the international break, has completed most of his rehabilitation programme in Paris with the club’s approval and is available for La Liga action.
Konate has also recovered from a lateral ligament injury suffered at the end of September while on international duty with France. He was welcomed back into training as Real Madrid continued preparations for the visit of Villarreal.
Saturday’s fixture will be played at Santiago Bernabeu in the eighth round of the Spanish league.
