It has been a morning of reunions at Valdebebas after the FIFA International Break to finalize preparations for the match against Leganés. Little by little, all the internationals have been rejoining Real Madrid's training… including the South American group made up of Vinicius, Rodrygo, Endrick, and Valverde. However, the bad news is that Courtois has returned with problems… and Real Madrid is already looking ahead to the Champions League quarterfinals against Arsenal on the horizon.

Courtois returned injured from Belgium

After Rudi García's appointment as the new coach, Thibaut Courtois returned to a Belgium call-up nearly two years after injuring his knee in August 2023 and missing the European Championship once he had recovered, due to personal issues with Domenico Tedesco. However, after playing the first match of the promotion to avoid relegation to League B of the Nations League, he had to miss the game days later in Genk due to a muscle overload.

At first, the issue doesn't appear to be of significant severity. However, it's been several days now that Courtois has been working solo in the gym at Valdebebas. Moreover, today's final training session before the Real Madrid match against Leganés took place, and once again, Courtois did not train alongside his teammates.

Ancelotti does not clarify Courtois' injury

After training, Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media and, logically, was asked about Courtois' situation, as well as Mendy and Ceballos. However, although he noted that it is a minor issue, he did not confirm his availability for tomorrow's match against Leganés.

Thus, it seems that Lunin will take over as goalkeeper for Real Madrid this weekend against the team that was once his, and if Ancelotti follows the current plan, he will also start in the Copa del Rey match against Real Sociedad. Therefore, Courtois would not return until the match against Valencia next weekend, just a few days before traveling to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals.