Kylian Mbappe returned to training today for Real Madrid, but he did not work out with the entire group. Mbappe, who is dealing with an ongoing knee problem, trained alone, casting serious doubt on his involvement in Wednesday night’s visit from Manchester City. Mbappe is obviously moving closer towards a recovery, but he’s still a very strong doubt for the midweek crunch clash.
Mbappe is naturally the headliner here, but today’s Madrid training session was very news-worthy, on multiple levels.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16
Manchester City at Real Madrid Leg 1 of 2
Wednesday March 11, 8pm kickoff, Estadio Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Google Result Probability for 90 Min: Manchester City win 48% Draw 25% Real Madrid win 27%
Team News for Both Sides
First, the additional bad news, left-back Alvaro Carreras is ruled out of this one with a calf issue. Also ruled out of this one are the following players: Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos and David Alaba. There is good news though!
Midfelder Eduardo Camavinga is back in full team training after dealing with an extremely painful toothache while Antonio Rudiger has returned as well.
Shifting gears to Manchester City, there is next to nothing to really report here, as Nico O’Reilly returned to action on the weekend.
And with Erling Haaland returning last week, Pep Guardiola’s only injury concerns are Max Alleyne, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.