Two days before hosting Malaga at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid trained at Valdebebas on Friday, with several first-team players once again missing from José Mourinho’s squad.
After an impressive victory over Real Sociedad, Real Madrid have had very little time to celebrate. The schedule is already becoming demanding at this early stage of the season, with matches coming every three or four days. Mourinho and his players know that maintaining their momentum will be crucial in the coming weeks, particularly with FC Barcelona also enjoying a strong start to the La Liga campaign.
The objective in Madrid is clear: collect as many points as possible before the next international break and avoid giving their main rivals an early advantage in the title race. However, Mourinho continues to face one major concern — an injury list that remains frustratingly long.
Real Madrid are not expecting any significant returns ahead of Sunday’s match against Malaga, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Several players who have been unavailable for a long period are still continuing their recovery programmes.
Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy remain sidelined. Among those three players, Militão is currently expected to be the first to return, although his comeback is not anticipated until after the October international break. That means Mourinho will once again have to find solutions without several important members of his squad.
Thiago Pitarch and Raúl Asencio were also absent from Friday’s group training session. There was, however, some encouraging news regarding Pitarch. The youngster was spotted working individually on the pitch, suggesting that his rehabilitation is progressing and that a return to collective training may not be too far away.
Endrick is in a similar situation. The Brazilian forward also completed individual work on the training ground as he continues his recovery. Endrick has been unavailable for approximately two weeks after initially suffering what was described as muscular overload. Real Madrid are taking no risks with the young attacker and will only allow him to return once he is fully ready.
Another notable absentee was Aurélien Tchouaméni. The French midfielder was once again unable to train with the rest of the squad and is now expected to miss Real Madrid’s third La Liga match of the season against Malaga.
🚨 BUENAS NOTICIAS 🚨
— (fan) REAL MADRID FANS 🤍 (@AdriRM33) August 28, 2026
ENDRICK, ÉDER MILITÃO Y THIAGO PITARCH ya entrenan con balón 🤩🔜 pic.twitter.com/c4AhRbGt24
Mourinho has already made his position clear regarding injured players. The Portuguese coach does not intend to take unnecessary risks, particularly during the opening weeks of what promises to be a long and demanding campaign. Tchouaméni will therefore be given all the time required to recover completely before returning to competitive action.
At the moment, there is no precise date for the French international’s comeback.
Despite these numerous absences, Real Madrid will still head into Sunday’s encounter as strong favourites. After their convincing performance against Real Sociedad, Mourinho will be hoping his available players can maintain the same intensity and secure another important victory at the Bernabéu.
With Barcelona also setting the pace, Madrid know that there is already very little room for error.
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