Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looks as if he will miss a third straight game through injury, after returning from international duty with Belgium with a muscle problem. Courtois returned to action for Belgium for the first time in two years against Ukraine in Murcia, but after missing the second game through a muscle issue sustained in the warm-up, he has yet to return to training.
Initially it was reported as a precautionary absence, with Courtois tipped to be back in action against Leganes on Saturday night. But after failing to make it back in time, on Monday Courtois again remained in the gym, as reported by Marca. He is now set to miss their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg with Real Sociedad, which they lead 1-0.
Andriy Lunin, who deputised against Leganes, has played all the way through the Copa so far, and was likely to do so again. When asked if Lunin would play a hypothetical final against Atletico Madrid or Barcelona though, Ancelotti seemed less sure.
“Yes… We’ll have to see. Lunin and Courtois could play, and if they’re injured, Fran Gonzalez could play. And if we don’t reach the final, none of the three would play,” he explained to the media.
Ancelotti again confirmed that Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos were aiming to be back for their trip to London to face Arsenal next week.
“Fran Garcia is contributing a lot. Mendy and Ceballos are trying to make it to the match against Arsenal.”
Meanwhile David Alaba, to the surprise of some in the Spanish capital, played the full 90 minutes in both of their Nations League clashes against Serbia. The Italian manager confirmed he was in contention against Real Sociedad after he missed their game against Leganes.
“Alaba is doing very well. He’s played two games for Austria. Putting him in two games every three days could be a risk. He has a chance to play tomorrow. Those who didn’t start against Leganes have more options for tomorrow’s starting eleven.”
Based on that logic, it would be no surprise to see Rodrygo Goes, Vinicius Junior and Fede Valverde return to the line-up. Aurelien Tchouameni also started on the bench and could return to the midfield, alongside one of Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga or Luka Modric. In recent big games, Valverde has replaced Lucas Vazquez at right-back too, while Raul Asencio started at right-back in the first leg.
