Sergio Ramos has returned to training with the rest of his teammates ahead of Real Madrid‘s game against Osasuna at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Saturday.
The Real Madrid captain could also be at Zinedine Zidane‘s disposal for the return leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Chelsea next Wednesday.
With both Nacho Fernandez and Eder Militao having stepped up in his absence, the question raised is: should Ramos return to the starting line-up against the Blues at Stamford Bridge?
Nacho and Militao were solid in defence in both games against Liverpool, while Zidane‘s back three following Raphael Varane‘s return to action worked well against Chelsea.
In fact, Real Madrid‘s defence has been more than reliable of late, having conceded only one goal in the last five games.
Zidane will assess Ramos‘ condition in the next few training sessions and decide whether his centre-back is ready to return to the starting XI.
While on international duty, Luis Enrique replaced Ramos at half time of Spain’s game against Greece and did not start him in any of the last two games, before the player picked up an injury in a warm-down exercise that has sidelined him since.
In fact, Ramos has played just three games so far in 2021 and that’s precisely what worries Zidane.
Meanwhile, Dani Carvajal has suffered another injury and will be sidelided for the rest of the season, which means that the French coach has fewer options in defence against Chelsea.
Dropping either Militao or Nacho from the starting line-up would be unfair, but the latter could also feature at right-back in England.
As for Fede Valverde, the Uruguayan midfielder, who played at right-back at Anfield, has yet to return to training due to the COVID-19 protocol.
