Five headline members of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid squad trained away from the rest of their teammates on Friday.
As much, however, should not be any kind of cause for concern.
Real, of course, are fresh off a hectic few days, which saw the Spanish champions make the trip to Qatar for the Intercontinental Cup final.
After ultimately emerging 3-0 victors, Los Blancos have since returned to base in Madrid, ahead of a return to domestic action against Sevilla on Sunday.
And, evidently, Carlo Ancelotti and his staff are eager not to take any sort of unnecessary risks when it comes to the fitness of the club’s star performers.
On Friday, a quintet of players, in turn, trained away from their teammates, inside the gym facilities at Valdebebas.
The stars in question? Vinícius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Federico Valverde and Thibaut Courtois.
All five are nevertheless expected to play their part on Sunday, when Real Madrid close out their fixture list for 2024 in a La Liga meeting with Sevilla.
Conor Laird – GSFN