Real Madrid Injury Update: Carlo Ancelotti believes Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militão could play against Manchester City
With Manchester City and Real Madrid drawn to face each other in the Champions League quarter-finals, it has many excited to see what the two giants could do. The two sides have been in fine form in Europe’s top club competition with the Los Blancos easing through their group, while the Cityzens have won every since game so far. However, the Madrid side have been saddled with several long-term injuries this season including too Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Eder Militao.
That has fans worried for the club’s future across the La Liga and Champions League even though Real Madrid go into the run against City in the best possible shape. However, Carlo Ancelotti has refuted any concerns and instead given fans some good news. Reports had indicated that Courtois and Militao were back in training, and the Italian boss confirmed that.
Real Madrid Injury Update: Ancelotti shares huge boost for Real Madrid ahead of Man City clash
In his pre-match presser ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Osasuna, the Italian boss revealed that both men are on their way back from long-term injuries. The two stars suffered ACL injuries early on in the season and Ancelotti confirmed that their return schedule is shorter than the club thought. So much so, that the Real Madrid boss believes that they’ll be back in action from the 31st of March.
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However, the former AC Milan and Everton manager also asserted that the club won’t rush the duo back into the team as they want to take their time and allow them to make a slow return. Thus while they could be fit and ready to play against Manchester City, Ancelotti won’t risk anything.
“Courtois and Militão have just this week started working with the group, completing normal training sessions. During the break they will play two friendlies against the youth team and, yes, I think they can make it. In fact, the idea is that they will be available on the 31st, against Athletic, but we won’t risk anything, that’s more than clear to us,” Ancelotti said in his press conference.
Manchester City are one of the favourites to win the UCL
The Los Blancos have drawn Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which is a repeat of last season’s fixture. The two sides met in the semi-finals of last season’s tournament with City beating Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate after a 4-0 win in the second leg. That does have Ancelotti worried as he admitted that his side did not play well for many reasons in that game.
“Manchester City are one of the favorites, we all think so and it will be very tough. We don’t mind having to play the second leg there, I don’t care.
“We didn’t play well in the second leg (last season) for many reasons. There will be time to analyse what happened. Now we are thinking about tomorrow; the draw, at this moment, is a ‘detail’ for us,” he added.