Real Madrid confident Courtois will make CWC final

Posted Tuesday, February 07, 2023 by Tribalfootball.com

Real Madrid have hopes of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois being fit for the Club World Cup.

Amid Real Madrid's injury concerns, there was a glimmer of light with the news that Belgian stopper Courtois is not ruled out for the competition. Initial tests on the abductor muscle that had been giving a problem and forced him to miss the away defeat in Mallorca are not as serious as feared.

As a precautionary measure, back-up stopper Andriy Lunin will play in Wednesday's semi-final game against Al Ahly with Courtois projected to play in the hypothetical final on Saturday should Madrid beat the Egyptian side.

Real Madrid's medical team have been kept busy in recent weeks and as things stand, three players are currently ruled-out of playing in Morocco: Ferland Mendy (muscle injury, left leg), Lucas Vázquez (severe right ankle sprain) and Eden Hazard (patellar tendinitis).

Question marks surround the fitness levels of both Eder Militao and Karim Benzema with the club not having issued a medical report on the pair.

AS says Benzema could be fit for Saturday but is 90% ruled out for the semifinals. Militao, for his part, had a less favorable prognosis and deemed as unlikely to be for for Saturday's game.