Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Brazilian winger Rodrygo will return to action for Real Madrid this weekend in their LaLiga match against Getafe on Sunday.
Rodrygo has missed the last two games after suffering a muscle injury during Madrid's win over Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month.
It provides a welcome boost for Los Blancos, who are still licking the wounds from their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League in midweek.
That loss also came with an injury to midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who is on the sidelines alongside David Alaba, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Junior and Aurelien Tchouameni.
“Rodrygo will be back tomorrow, Tchouameni will be back the next game and Camavinga will be back soon,” Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday.
@RodrygoGoes@Lucasvazquez91#RMCity pic.twitter.com/xqaxrCXXuA
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadriden) November 30, 2024
Ancelotti's side started the weekend second in LaLiga, four points behind rivals Barcelona, but have the comfort of an extra game in hand.
They welcome Getafe to the Bernabeu and are confident of closing the gap at the top, having won 18 of their last 21 matches against Geta Azulones in LaLiga (D2 L1) and scoring a total of 51 goals.
“In many years of my career, only one year was quite easy: last year,” Ancelotti added. “All those other years I had to solve problems. Sooner or later the problems will come.
“It's impossible to think of a season like last year where everything went perfectly.
“It is better to find the problem in November or December than in April or May. Now the problem can be solved and, as I said, we are going to solve it.
“We are fighting for the league against a rival that is doing very well [Club] The World Cup is coming, the Super Cup… and especially the injured players are coming back.
“We must face this moment with a good attitude and dedication because good things are yet to come.”
The Italian continued to back 25-year-old French forward Kylian Mbappé, who put in another lackluster performance in Madrid's defeat to Liverpool, as he failed to trouble the Premier League club's defense and in missed a penalty in the second half.
The Frenchman had ended a run of four games without a goal in all competitions in their last LaLiga match, scoring the opener against Leganes, but managed just two shots on the trip to Anfield, with his saved penalty being the only effort on target.
“He is aware that he has to do better, but he and everyone. We have to continue to support him and think that it is a collective problem, but not an individual problem,” Ancelotti said.
“The team dynamics in LaLiga have improved a lot in the last two games. We have to take into account that we are missing a lot of players. Rodrygo returns tomorrow and we have to be patient.”
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