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Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior will be eligible for Sunday’s Madrid derby match against Atletico Madrid, according to Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Bellingham’s participation had raised some questions after he was compelled to leave training early on Friday owing to a gastrointestinal issue.
However, the six-goal Los Blancos forward from England trained properly on Saturday and will be available for the La Liga match against Diego Simeone’s team.
As for Vinicius, Ancelotti stated that the Brazilian international “has 100% recovered” from the hamstring problem that has kept him out since the end of August. Vinicius will also be included in the squad.
When queried about the forward during the Real Madrid manager’s pre-game news conference, the reporters were informed that “he will be in the squad for tomorrow’s game.”
“There is zero risk. He trained yesterday because there was zero risk. He trained today because there is zero risk. If we think there is one percent risk tomorrow, he won’t play.
“What’s important is that Vinícius has recovered. I’ve told him that he’s missing some conditioning after a month out, but we’ll evaluate it tomorrow.”
Ancelotti disputed that there was ever a real chance that Bellingham would not be available for selection against Atletico when he was questioned about the summer acquisition.
He continued, “No, it’s just a story; he wasn’t feeling well on Thursday, but he trained regularly today and will be OK to play.
Along with Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal will undoubtedly not play on Sunday, while Arda Guler is not anticipated to play despite having resumed training after knee surgery.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are set to be left off the starting lineup on Sunday, thus Ancelotti was also questioned about his choices in the middle of the field.
With Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga slated to serve as the central three, Bellingham is certain to start at number 10.
The rivalry in midfield is fierce, and the team’s reflection is that when we make a change, the player leaving is sad and the guy coming in is happy, he continued. “Leaving not just Kroos or Modric on the bench is hard, as well as Valverde.
“I understand that you come off sad, you think I’m changing you because you’re not playing well, but very often it’s because I have resources and I want to put someone fresh.
“I tell them not to be sad; only to be sad if they haven’t given 100%; and if you have given 100%, you don’t have to feel sad, especially if the guy coming in has a lot of quality.”
Real Madrid is now leading the standings with 15 points after winning all six of their games to start this season, including their first five La Liga games.
