Capello cold shoulder for star Real Madrid quartet

Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello froze out four senior players at training yesterday ahead of tonight's Copa del Rey tie with Real Betis.

Despite banning media from training, it emerged that Capello ordered David Beckham, Michel Salgado, Ronaldo and Antonio Cassano not to train with their first team pals yesterday. Instead, the senior foursome worked with Alvaro Meija and Francisco Pavon, who both are already on the outer at Real.

Capello insisted last night he had not frozen out the quartet "because the laws here do not allow it", however the decision to exclude them from training suggests the four are facing a delicate moment in their Santiago Bernabeu careers.

While the situations surrounding Ronaldo, Beckham and Cassano are well known, the decision to also force Salgado to the margins has surprised observers, particularly with Real Madrid B fullback Miguel Torres now expected to replace the Spain international for not only tonight, but also the Liga clash with Zaragoza on the weekend.