Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender set to be available for derby, Benzema and Vazquez will miss out
Real Madrid centre-back Eder Militao is available for selection for the first derby of the season against Atletico Madrid this weekend.
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, the 24-year-old defender trained at the same pace as his teammates after recovering from the muscle injury he sustained against Celtic in Real Madrid’s first UEFA Champions League 2022-23 group stage game in Glasgow.
The 24-year-old was forced off at half-time to be replaced by Antonio Rudiger. The injury led to him missing his side’s next two games; the 4-1 win over Mallorca and the recent 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig.
Real Madrid players returned to training in Valdebebas merely 12 hours after beating Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu. Among the players who trained ahead of the derby was Militao, although there were a couple of notable absentees too.
Those were club captain Karim Benzema and versatile star Lucas Vazquez. Like Militao, Benzema, too, was a loss against Celtic. The Frenchman was substituted within the 30-minute mark and hasn’t appeared for the club since.
As of today, both Benzema and Vazquez are working inside the facility to recover from their respective injuries, which means they are surely out for the derby.
As for Vazquez, the 31-year-old played 71 minutes against Mallorca before suffering a muscle injury. Initial reports suggested that he will be out for about three weeks. Fortunately enough, he has started light training along with Benzema but will not be available against Atletico for sure.
Dani Carvajal started on the right side of the defence against RB Leipzig and judging by the looks of things, the Spaniard will keep his place against the cross-town rivals this weekend.
For now, the aforementioned source says the rest of the team did ‘possession exercises, ball exits, games on small pitches and the session ended with shots on goal’.
Meanwhile, it must be noted that the away fixture against Atletico Madrid will be the final game before the season goes into the international break.
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
