French striker Karim Benzema will miss Saturday's LaLiga game against Espanyol in LaLiga through injury.
Carlo Ancelotti confirmed at his pre-game press conference: "Karim suffered a blow to his ankle and it swelled up. He tried to recover in time, but he couldn't. He started training on his own today (Friday)."
However, Ancelotti added that he his "counting on him for Wednesday's game" against Liverpool in the Champions League.
Ancelotti does not want to take any risks with Benzema, whose ankle injury means he will miss another game, his 14th this season. The Italian says Rodrygo Goes will start in his place, with youngster Álvaro Rodríguez set to wait for minutes on the bench.
Benzema's absence against Espanyol is in addition to that of Austrian defender David Alaba, who continues his recovery from injury.
On the other hand, Ferland Mendy and Mariano Diaz have returned to group training.
The highlight of Friday morning at Madrid's Ciudad Deportiva was the return of left-back Mendy. In the minutes of the session open to the media, he was seen smiling and exercising at the same pace as his teammates in the warm-up and the rondos.
Mendy's last match was on Jan. 26 and, after a month and a half out with a muscle tear in his left thigh, he has now completed all the stages of his recovery and it will be up to Ancelotti to decide if he is fit enough to be included in the squad.
Also back is the forward Mariano Diaz, who had been confined to the gym on Thursday due to muscle discomfort. He was seen working normally and is at the disposal of the Madrid coach.