Real Madrid are facing a race to have Karim Benzema fit for their Champions League clash with Celtic on Wednesday.
Benzema has six goals and one assist from 11 games this season but the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner has been missing from team training and sat out the last two matches against Sevilla and RB Leipzig due to ongoing ‘muscle fatigue’. However there is some good news as midfield star Federico Valverde is back in full training ahead of Sunday’s La Liga match against Girona.
Valverde picked up an injury during Madrid’s last league encounter against Sevilla and ended up missing their meeting of RB Leipzig earlier this week. He trained alone on Friday but was spotted back in among the squad today which suggests his participation could indicate that the 24-year-old should be in contention for a return to action.
Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos and Mariano Diaz have all returned to training to give Carlo Ancelotti's men a welcome boost as they look to cement top spot in Group F after already securing progression to the knockout stage of Europe's elite competition. Reports also state that fellow forward, Rodrygo could be doubtful for welcoming Ange Postecoglou's side to the Spanish capital as he is suffering from a "mild illness".
Celtic are rooted to the bottom of the section and even if they could pull off a historic result at the Santiago Bernabeu, they couldn't leapfrog Shakhtar Donetsk into third spot, which guarantees dropping into the Europa League. They played out a disappointing 1-1 home draw with the Ukrainian outfit last time out and have rued missed opportunities in front of goal throughout the campaign.
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