The first week of Alvaro Arbeloa as head coach of Real Madrid has been anything short of peaceful but the training session of Thursday came as a reprieve in an otherwise getting worse scenario in the club.
The early exit caused by a dreamy defeat of 3-2 to Albacete in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey left a lot to be desired regarding the depth of the squad, the management of injuries, and the momentum of Real Madrid. The defeat was only a few days after another setback in the Spanish Super Cup which further flung the crisis on the side of the reigning giants.
It is on this basis that Arbeloa was emboldened by the arrival of some star players back. After having been rested during the cup match, Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Jude Bellingham all worked with the team. The coaching personnel decided not to disclose them so as to manage workloads in a packed schedule.
The recovery of Mbappe is one of the most followed events in the club. The French star has been struggling with left knee sprain that has seen him miss the opening matches in the year. The fact that he appeared briefly in the Super Cup final was an indication of improvement and the Thursday training session indicated that they are improving although caution is still of the order.
Tchouameni and Bellingham who have carried huge burdens during the season were also brought back freely, thus bringing much-needed sanity to the midfield options before domestic action.
Rodrygo Goes and Antonio Rudiger who were undergoing left knee pain remained on individualized therapy. Both will theoretically be available in the league match against Levante on Saturday with internal plans indicating that both would be brought back into full training on Friday.
In spite of such good news, Real Madrid will remain to play without the services of Ferland Mendy, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Eder Militao, who are all injured. Brahim Diaz is also unavailable as an addition to making selection choices difficult on the part of Arbeloa.
With the pressure building up, the re-emergence of key figures can be the decisive move in getting Real Madrid back on track in a short time and preventing further losses.