Vinicius Junior 'ahead of schedule' in recovery from hamstring injury
- Vinicius injured on international duty with Brazil in November
- Initial prognosis suggested 23-year-old winger would not return to action until February
- Real Madrid may be able to call on Vinicius for Spanish Super Cup in January
Vinicius Junior is making 'good progress' in his recovery from a hamstring injury and could return to action for Real Madrid far earlier than first feared.
The 23-year-old injured his hamstring during the first half of Brazil's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Colombia, with Joao Pedro replacing him in the 27th minute of what turned out to be a 2-1 defeat for the Selecao.
It was initially feared that Vinicius could be out of action for three months, ruling him out of action until February, but The Athletic report that Vinicius is making swift progress and club sources are refusing to rule out potential participation in the Spanish Super Cup.
This year's competition gets underway on 10 January in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Barcelona, Osasuna and Atletico Madrid the other three teams featuring because of their success during the 2022/23 season.
Real Madrid take on rivals Atletico in the first game, with Barcelona taking on Osasuna a day later. The two winners will then meet on 14 January.
Vinicius was out of action earlier in the season for a month with a similar hamstring complaint, but his latest issue has ruled him out of Madrid's last 11 games.
The 14-time Champions League winners have maintained their good form in his absence and top La Liga on goal difference ahead of Girona, largely thanks to the continued brilliance of Jude Bellingham.
The 20-year-old Englishman has registered 15 goals in first 17 appearances for Madrid in all competitions, most notably scoring the winning goal in his first ever Clasico against Barcelona.
Bellingham has also scored crucial goals in the Champions League, against Union Berlin and Napoli in particular, yet he has also given Madrid a cause for concern after recently dislocating his shoulder. After missing a couple of games, the 27-cap England international has returned to action, though Carlo Ancelotti has refused to rule out the possibility of surgery should the problem reoccur.
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