Real Madrid are have suffered remarkable misfortune this season with three of their players going down due to anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the space of little over four months, nevermind the fact they all occurred in the same area of the pitch. Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao are progressing well in their recoveries though.
As reported by Diario AS, both are back training on the grass after completing the purely gym-based phase of their recovery. Militao had already done so in December on occasion, while Courtois has been posting videos of himself back training outside. Militao has been doing light exercises with the ball too, while Courtois did some reflex work with goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis.
Real Madrid have not altered the schedule for their returns yet though, in spite of the positive progress. Courtois is due to come back in May, and has recently doubled down on comments that he would not be 100% for the Euros this summer, and thus was unlikely to play for Belgium.
Militao’s return is expected in late March or even April. His presence down the stretch could be invaluable, with Carlo Ancelotti stating that they will not be signing another central defender this January, despite only Nacho Fernandez and Antonio Rudiger being left as natural options. That said, the medical staff at Valdebebas have said that ‘a tough mountain to climb lies ahead’ for both.
Ancelotti has also said that Aurelien Tchouameni, Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal can provide cover in central defence, but with Tchouameni it has already been seen that he will take some time to adapt. Moving either of the full-backs into the middle would also weaken them in their positions, with Lucas Vazquez and Fran Garcia not yet at their level.
