Zinedine Zidane has always preferred to stick with a regular XI as much as he can, so it’s not a great surprise that Real have suffered this year because of injuries.
Eden Hazard has been in and out of the injury room for months, Dani Carvajal has been out for a while, and Sergio Ramos and Marcelo have had their fitness issues too.
Martin Odegaard won’t be seen as such a high priority because he’s a younger player who is still trying to establish himself and win the trust of the manager, but Real have a welcome boost with Marca indicating that he’ll be back this weekend.
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It does come as a surprise because he was expected to be out until after the international break at least, so it’s good to see him getting back to fitness quickly.
The squad has been stretched recently due to the injuries and a busy schedule with the Champions League, so having an extra body will always be seen as a good thing.
It might be too soon for him to play a full 90 minutes, but it would make sense to bring him on in the second half if the legs are starting to tire.