Real Madrid heavyweight an injury doubt for Leganes fixture

Real Madrid mark their return to action after the international break with a match against Leganes, but they are set to be without an important player for that La Liga clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid currently trail Barcelona by three points in the La Liga title race, and a victory on Saturday would see them close the gap on their El Clasico rivals, who are not in action until Sunday when they host Girona in a Catalan derby. Carlo Ancelotti’s side, will be aiming to put the pressure on, although it looks like they will be going for victory without the services of starting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Courtois suffered an injury scare during the international break, which was his first for a while where he played for Belgium. It is not serious, but according to Marca, it could be enough for him to miss out against Leganes.

Ancelotti is taking no chances with Courtois ahead of a gruelling fixture schedule for Real Madrid. The idea is for him to rest against Leganes, and next midweek, he is not planned to start anyway when Los Blancos host Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie.

It must be remembered that Real Madrid take on Arsenal in the quarter-final of their Champions League in the first few weeks of April, and Courtois will need to be at 100% for those two ties. Ancelotti will take no chances whatsoever with his starting goalkeeper, and he has trust in Andriy Lunin, who is expected to deputise against Leganes.

Lunin has been the Copa del Rey goalkeeper for Real Madrid this season, so it is taken for granted that he will face La Real next Tuesday – he was the starter in the first leg at the Reale Arena.