Real Madrid handed major fitness boosts ahead of Supercopa final against Barcelona
Real Madrid were boosted by the return to training of a number of key players ahead of the first Clasico of 2023 in Sunday night's Supercopa de Espana final against Barcelona.
Los Blancos battled through 120 minutes of a gruelling semi-final against Valencia on Wednesday evening, eventually booking a place in the final of the Spanish Super Cup via a penalty shootout.
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It was an evening of success that looked to have taken its toll on Carlo Ancelotti's injury-affected squad. Eduardo Camavinga didn't reemerge after the interval with complaints of a knee problem while Lucas Vazquez and Eder Militao were forced off in the second half with ankle and head injuries respectively. Federico Valverde was removed during extra time after some robust treatment from Los Che.
However, the Spanish sports daily Diario AS reported that Camavinga, Militao and Valverde had all returned to training by Friday. Vazquez was not part of the session after the club confirmed that the versatile wide man had sprained his ankle, with some reports predicting an absence of as long as six weeks.
Dani Carvajal replaced Vazquez in the King Fahd International Stadium but was a fitness concern himself going into the fixture. Ferland Mendy's involvement was also doubtful before he was forced into action but both fullbacks were healthy enough to train with their colleagues ahead of the impending Clasico.
Militao was removed after complaining of dizziness but the Brazilian defender was cleared of any concussion fears by tests which were conducted on Thursday.
His fellow centre-back David Alaba and defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni weren't among the party which flew out to Saudi Arabia for the four-team tournament. Between them, the pair have missed just two La Liga matches all season but are both struggling with leg injuries.
Even without two of his first-team regulars, the recent return of several integral figures has provided Ancelotti with ample options ahead of Sunday's Supercopa showpiece.