Forward may not feature at the weekend following injury scare in Brazil’s friendlies
Vinicius Junior will need to be assessed to discover if he is fit enough to play Real Madrid’s La Liga match against Mallorca after a demanding international schedule, according to coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
The forward had an injury scare after playing for much of Brazil’s friendlies during the international window, featuring for the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 defeat to France before playing over an hour in the 3-1 win over Croatia.
“He’s tired because my friend Carlo [Ancelotti, Brazil’s coach] hasn’t given him much rest, which is normal,” Arbeloa said. “The demands at Real Madrid and Brazil are enormous.
“Vini has a heavy workload of matches. He hasn’t stopped for a single day, and today we’ll see how he is and then we’ll decide.”
Madrid are also preparing for their Champions League quarter-final first leg match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, with Vinicius having been in strong form before the international break, scoring against both Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham did not feature in England’s recent friendlies despite being called up by Thomas Tuchel. Reports suggested Madrid were unhappy with the midfielder’s situation as he continues to recover from a hamstring issue, but Arbeloa downplayed concerns.
“Bellingham’s case was unique,” Arbeloa said. “He played a few minutes against Atletico but his manager [Thomas Tuchel] didn’t want him to play, didn’t want to take any risks.
“Jude is smart enough to have good training sessions. I didn’t have any plan, the England manager did. For me, it’s not a problem that he’s not playing. For me, he’s going to be a key player and has to get back to his best, and that’s done by playing.
“He’s been out for a long time, and we’re going to have to take it step by step.”
There was more positive news for Madrid with Eder Militao returning to training and potentially in line for his first appearance since December.
“When he’s fit, he’s the best centre-back in the world,” Arbeloa said. “It feels like there are two players when he’s on the pitch. He’s intelligent, a leader, and a game-changer. I’m very happy with his return.”
Madrid head into the Mallorca game four points behind leaders Barcelona with nine matches remaining, having won their last five games before the international break.
“We have nine finals in La Liga, and we no longer have any margin for error in any competition, neither in La Liga nor in the Champions League,” Arbeloa added.
“We’re only thinking about Mallorca. It’s a very difficult match, and the current situation has set off a million alarms for me. When spring arrives, Real Madrid give their best.”
