Arbeloa is unsure about Mbappe’s return, the defender will be missed by City
The manager of Real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloa, could not inform anything about Kylian Mbappe’s return from injury, as his team will face Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie. There is hope that he can return in time for the second leg match in England.
After spending a week in Paris, partly to get a second opinion on his knee injury, Mbappe returned to the Spanish capital this week and trained on Monday, but not with the rest of the squad. Word from Diario AS is that he will miss the first leg against City, as well as their Liga home game against Elche, but he has a chance to return next Tuesday for the second leg. In addition, left back Alvaro Carreras has been ruled out with a knee injury. He was suspended against Celta Vigo on Friday, but is out of both games this week, and a doubt for Tuesday, Marca said.
“Mbappe is the best, but we have to take it one day at a time. He is feeling good again. And we will take it one step at a time,” was all Arbeloa had to say on Mbappe’s news.
Teammate Eduardo Camavinga has missed both of their last two games with a dental problem, suffering from severe pain. Looks like he’s going back to work.
“At best, you’ve had a bad week. Here we say ‘worse than a toothache.’ But he’s back in the team since Saturday and he’s even better tomorrow.”
‘It’s not easy to trust the youth school here’ – Arbeloa
One of the lines he took in his final press conference after their win over Celta was to thank ‘those who wanted to be here’. This was read as a jibe by other players who might not have done it, but Arbeloa put that idea to bed.
“That doesn’t mean that someone didn’t want to come, no. I wanted to thank those who made a big effort to be there. Leaving the field they did the way they did. That’s what I said. The interpretation… that’s up to you. No player who wasn’t in Vigo was there because he didn’t want to come.”
Arbeloa had just 14 players to choose from on Friday, and gave a start to Thiago Pitarch, and there were cameos from Cesar Palacios and Manuel Angel. Arbeloa was asked if the City game was a day for youth products or experienced players.
“I think we can all agree that in Vigo, the players of the youth team showed that they are not afraid to step up. Thiago had a great game, Palacios changed the team, Manuel Angel was important in that ball… it is not easy to trust the youth academy when you sit here, and it is something that people should understand. Because the best players in the world play on the bench, and it is not easy to play your youth player here. they are ready for games like tomorrow, as they have shown.
Arbeloa: I haven’t changed
Regarding his development, Arbeloa confirmed that he was the same person, even if being in the Bernabeu hotseat was a learning experience.
“The difference… I don’t think there is. You only get experience. But I believe I’m the same person, even though I’ve been coaching Real Madrid for two months, which is like a professional class. A lot of learning. I’ll enjoy every day I’m here until the end.”
