Valverde absent from Madrid's training session

Real Madrid began preparations for the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian on Wednesday (21:30 CET). Carlo Ancelotti rested the players who started in La Liga on Sunday, as well as Fede Valverde, who did not play against Girona.

The high number of games Fede Valverde has played and the discomfort with which he has faced numerous matches in which he has even had to play at right-back in the absence of Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, mean that the coaching staff are now looking after the Uruguayan midfielder as much as possible.

With the return of Lucas Vazquez after a muscle injury against Girona and the return of Aurelien Tchouameni to his natural position, Fede Valverde finally came into rotation and did not play against Girona. The player was hoping to make 300 appearances for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu and was on the verge of doing so, but when he was on the touchline to come on, Vinícius Junior's goal that sealed the game caused Ancelotti to back out of the substitution.

The Italian coach is considering resting Fede Valverde again on Wednesday against Real Sociedad, according to sources in the dressing room. For the moment, he has not trained with the group on Monday. The decision will be made by Ancelotti on Tuesday, in the last training session to prepare for the Copa del Rey clash.

He will count on the presence of Jude Bellingham, who missed the league game against Girona through suspension and will not be available for next Saturday's visit to Real Betis. The English midfielder was one of the players who trained intensively, first in the gym and then on the pitch, along with Andriy Lunin, Fran Garcia, Antonio Rudiger, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler and Endrick