Thibaut Courtois was back in Real Madrid training on Friday to offer a glimmer of hope that he could return in time for Sunday’s El Clasico
The goalkeeper has been dealing with a back injury which has kept him out of the team’s last four games in all competitions, with the upcoming meeting with Barcelona initially seen as a possible return date.
Courtois had been predicted to return to training earlier this week, so his absence led to some concerns that El Clasico may be out of his reach, but he continued to keep himself in the mix by finally making a return to a light session behind the scenes.
AS note that Courtois was back out on the pitch on Friday, making saves and exercising one-on-one with a Real coach.
While he is not definitively in contention for the game, Courtois has not been formally ruled out just yet and a final decision will be made in the coming hours.
Ukraine international Andriy Lunin has been Courtois’ stand-in over the past few weeks and is ready to face Barcelona on Sunday if the Belgian fails to recover in time.
Courtois has been among the world’s top stoppers for a few years now but, on the other side of El Clasico, Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been in sensational form this year.
He has conceded just one goal all La Liga season, instead saving 19 of the 20 shots that have come his way this season. His 95% save accuracy is the highest among Europe’s top-five leagues.
Elsewhere, centre-back Antonio Rudiger is expected to be available following his nasty head injury in midweek.
Credit: 90min.com
