Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, who returned from his hamstring injury earlier than expected, trained on Friday and Saturday and “will be in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad” for the derby against Atlético Madrid on Sunday .
“His injury is already forgotten, he will be in the group for tomorrow and we will see what role he will have”, declared Saturday Carlo Ancelotti at a press conference, assuring that the risk of Vinicius relapse was “zero”, and that “ If there was a 1% risk then he wouldn’t play.
The Brazilian injured his right thigh during the championship match against Celta Vigo on August 25, and should have taken at least a month to recover, according to the Spanish press.
He could finally make his return to competition at the Metropolitano, where he was the target of racist chants from a group of Atlético supporters during last season’s derby.
Before the return match in January, four fans were also fined and banned from the match after hanging a mannequin bearing the Brazilian’s likeness near Real’s training center.
“I think something has changed after last year, what happened around the Wanda and also in Valencia… there is a calmer, more respectful atmosphere, and I think tomorrow it will not be the same,” assured Ancelotti.
The Italian technician also wanted to reassure the press about the presence of Jude Bellingham, back in training on Saturday after missing Friday’s session for “stomach problems”.
Ancelotti will, however, be deprived of his captain Dani Carvajal “not 100%” for this Madrid derby against Atlético on Sunday (9 p.m.), where Real, still leader, will try to achieve a seventh success in seven matches in all competitions.
“It will be a special match, with a lot of intensity, against an opponent who has a lot of resources,” said the Real Madrid coach, for whom the objective is of course “victory”, but “not to force Atlético, just to score points and try to win the title.
Seventh in Liga, the Colchoneros must bounce back after their draw against Lazio (1-1) in the Champions League and the correction suffered in Valencia (3-0) last weekend, to keep up with their two rivals. in the title race, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
“Madrid and Barcelona can always afford to have great players, but we have always been able to compete with them,” assured Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone. “So we have to focus on ourselves and continue to compete with them as we have done for the last 11 years,” he added.