Real Madrid are gearing up to face Atletico Madrid for the second time in eight days, after dispatching local side Rayo Vallecano 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real Madrid were without two of their defensive pillars in Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois. The former was ruled out due to illness which he failed to recover from in time, while the Belgian had a slight strain on his right patellar - which was something he had been suffering from for a while.
Real Madrid had to manage without them - with David Alaba and Andriy Lunin replacing them in the lineup, and they did a good job. It was expected that the two defensive stars will return to face Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano come Wednesday.
And that is exactly what is happening. According to Fabrizio Romano, Courtois and Rudiger participated in team training today, and are ready to face the Rojiblancos in the Champions League tie.
No team can cope well if they lose the kind of superstars that Real Madrid had lost to injuries, but they did it as well as they could have imagined. However, it is worth noting that although Alaba had a good game, it was not to say that he would be able to replicate that in such an under-pressure scenario, which makes Rudiger's return perfect sense.
Rudiger has been great this season, although he has struggled with fitness in the last few games. Hopefully training on Monday and Tuesday would mean he is truly fit and firing for the big match against Atletico, winning which would take Real Madrid to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal, who are 7-1 leaders against PSV.
Courtois, on the other hand, is the best goalkeeper in the world on his day. Lunin is as good of a backup as you could have, but the Belgian could turn things around for Real Madrid with his reflexes, which would be key against an Atletico that will come out with guns blazing.