Karim Benzema missed training on Wednesday for Real Madrid and is set to miss Thursday's session too, seemingly ruling him out of the clash with Espanyol on Saturday.
Just Ferland Mendy and David Alaba were absent from training at the beginning of the week, but now club captain Benzema has an ankle issue, according to Diario AS.
Madrid are nine points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona going into this weekend. They face a Champions League last-16 second leg clash against Liverpool next Wednesday.
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Next week is a critical one for Carlo Ancelotti as he faces Liverpool in the Champions League before taking on Barcelona in the league as they look to close the gap on their fierce rivals.
The match at the Bernabeu in midweek sees Madrid as huge favourites to advance to the quarter-finals as they look to defend the trophy they won in May in Paris, but the Reds know what it takes to mount a historic European comeback.
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