Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Brazil winger Rodrygo will return to action for Real Madrid this weekend in their LaLiga encounter against Getafe on Sunday.
Rodrygo has missed the last two games after sustaining a muscle injury in Madrid's win over Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month.
It provides a welcome boost for Los Blancos, who are still licking their wounds from their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League in midweek.
That loss also came with an injury to midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who joins David Alaba, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Junior and Aurelien Tchouameni on the sidelines.
"Rodrygo will be back tomorrow, Tchouameni will be back next game and Camavinga will be back soon," Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday.
Ancelotti's side entered the weekend second in the LaLiga table, four points behind rivals Barcelona, but have the comfort of an extra game in hand.
They welcome Getafe to the Bernabeu and have confidence in closing the gap at the summit, having won 18 of their last 21 games against Geta Azulones in LaLiga (D2 L1), scoring a total of 51 goals.
"In many years of my career, only one year has been quite easy: last year," Ancelotti added. "All the other years I have had to solve problems. Sooner or later, the problems come.
"It is impossible to think of a season like last year when everything went perfectly.
"It's better to find the problem in November or December than in April or May. Now the problem can be solved and, as I said, we are going to solve it.
"We are fighting for the league against a rival that is doing very well. The [Club] World Cup is coming, the Super Cup ... and above all the injured players are coming back.
"We have to endure the moment with a good attitude and commitment because the good things are yet to come."
The Italian continued to back 25-year-old France forward Kylian Mbappe, who had another subdued performance in Madrid's loss to Liverpool as he failed to trouble the Premier League club's defence and missed a penalty in the second half.
The Frenchman had ended a four-game run without a goal in all competitions in their last LaLiga match, netting the opener against Leganes, but managed just two shots during the trip to Anfield, with his saved penalty the only effort on target.
"He's aware that he has to do better, but he and everyone. We have to keep supporting him and think that it's a collective problem but not an individual one," Ancelotti said.
"The team's dynamic in LaLiga has improved a lot in the last two games, we have to bear in mind that we are missing a lot of players. Rodrygo returns tomorrow and we must be patient."
Related items
-
Howe lauds Slot's impact at Liverpool but insists title race not over
Eddie Howe lauded the impact of Arne Slot with Premier League leaders Liverpool, though insists the title race is far from over ahead of Newcastle United's meeting on Wednesday.
Liverpool are nine points clear at the summit heading into the midweek action, having dispatched Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Anfield on Sunday.
That opened up an 11-point gap between the Reds and Pep Guardiola's defending champions, yet Howe believes the title battle is far from over in December.
"No, I think nothing is ever secure or done until it's done," said Howe. "The Premier League is known for twists and turns, so who knows what's going to happen.
"I think they're a team at the moment playing with full confidence, they've still got the hallmark of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
"But Arne has now had his time with the team and tweaked certain things, that makes them a very difficult proposition because they've added new strengths."
Newcastle were defeated 2-0 at home by West Ham before a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Slot believes travelling to Newcastle will pose a tougher test than facing Real Madrid, however, having defeated Los Blancos last week in the Champions League.
"We know we have a difficult week coming up again," Slot said.
"We thought Madrid and City were very difficult teams to face, which they actually were as well. I think it’s even harder going away to Newcastle.
"We're not even halfway through the season yet."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Fitness permitting if Alexander Isak can shake off a knock suffered at Palace, the Sweden striker will be key to any home hopes here.
The Newcastle forward has 21 goals in 30 home Premier League appearances, although he has only scored twice from 18 attempts at St James' Park this season.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah stole the show once more against City, scoring from the penalty spot and assisting Cody Gakpo's opener.
The Liverpool star has also been involved in 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle (eight goals, six assists), with these coming in his last 13 appearances against them.
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool are firm favourites for this one considering they have won each of their last six meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League.
The Magpies are winless in the last 15 top-flight meetings overall (D4 L11), while Liverpool have won five of their last six league visits to St. James' Park.
Indeed, the Reds' three-match winning streak on the road against Newcastle is their longest such streak against Wednesday's hosts in the competition.
Expect drama, too, given Liverpool have won 11 Premier League games in which they have trailed against Newcastle, the most comeback wins one side has against another in the competition's history.
To make matters worse for the hosts, they have won just one of their last 26 Premier League meetings against sides starting the day top of the table (D7 L18), a feat which could continue here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle United win – 26.2%
Draw – 23.6%
Liverpool win – 50.2% -
Saints go marching in: St Catherine High to contest first-ever Manning Cup final after penalty shootout win over Jamaica College
St Catherine High School will contest their first-ever ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup final, as they prevailed 5-3 in a dramatic penalty shootout against many-time champions Jamaica College (JC) at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
In a semi-final game defined by determination and resilience, the teams played out a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time before the St Johns Road-based school held their nerve from 12 yards to edge past their storied opponents.
Romaine Walters (11th) for St Catherine and Nashordo Gibbs (40th) for Jamaica College got the goals in open play.
The victory was met with jubilation from the St Catherine camp as players, staff, and supporters celebrated their school’s historic feat, which left an almost emotional Head coach, Anthony Patrick, at a loss for words.
For Patrick, it was not just a victory over one of the competition’s giants but a testament to their grit, belief, and teamwork throughout the season.
“Words alone can’t explain how I feel. I must say kudos to the youngsters because they fought hard and dug deep. I must also laud our goalkeeper [Omarion Brown]. He came up big for us, and we know once it gets to penalties, it will work out in our favour. We asked them to stick behind the ball and force Jamaica College to play the long ball so our goalkeeper can come into play because we know once it got to penalties, it would be difficult for them,” Patrick said post-match.
St Catherine began brightly and took an early lead in the 11th minute when Walters calmly converted a penalty after Gentles' shot struck the hand of Jamaica College’s defender Javaun Mills inside the box. The goal marked Walters’ third of the season and gave his team the momentum, despite Jamaica College dominating the early exchanges.
However, the lead did little to deflate Jamaica College, who quickly regrouped and pushed for an equalizer. Their relentless probing eventually paid off in the 40th minute when Giovanni Taylor delivered a precise pass across the box for Nashordo Gibbs to tap home from close range.
Jamaica College almost took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Gibbs broke free and crossed for Taylor, who squandered the opportunity, as the score remained unchanged at the break.
On the resumption, Jamaica College had opportunities to win the contest but failed to find the decisive breakthrough due to a combination of faulty shooting, poor decision-making, and good glove work by Omarion Brown in goal for St Catherine.
In fact, their best chance to steal victory came in the 87th minute when Jamoy Dennis found himself in behind the defence with time and space but somehow fired his effort wide, much to the relief of St Catherine’s supporters.
St Catherine then delivered a flawless display from the spot, with Walters, Nathel Ellis, Dwight Gentles, Josh Reid, and Kadean Young all converting their kicks.
Jamaica College, the tournament’s most successful team, saw Dontae Logan, Dyllan John, and Javaun Mills find the back of the net. However, the pivotal moment came when Jahmarly Bennett’s effort cannoned off the crossbar, sealing the Old Hope Road school’s fate.