Welsh international Gareth Bale has been training apart from his Real Madrid colleagues. He was joined in the gym by Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao, who continues to recover from injury.
Bales’ colleague Cristiano Ronaldo is suspended for the midweek clash with Sevilla but will return for the high profile Madrid derby with Atletico.
Real have 51 points to Atletico’s 47 but could extend that gap before the weekend. Sevilla however may not be easy. They lie fourth with 42 points and Wednesday’s game in hand of Atletico ahead of them.
On-off Mexico international Carlos Vela suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee early in Saturday’s 4-1 La Liga loss at Real Madrid.
His club Real Sociedad announced in a statement that his subsequent surgery had been successful.
Sociedad coach Davie Moyes consoles Carlos Vela after his knee injury
The 25-year-old has 37 caps for Mexico but opted out of the 2014 World Cup for reasons that kept fans in both Spain and Mexico talking
Dr. Mikel Sanchez performed the operation after which Vela will start the recovery process at the Zubieta sporting facility. Though no time frame has been given for a return to competitive play, the injury typically requires up to eight weeks of rehabilitation.
In the week where former Barcelona AND Real Madrid player Luis Figo made the news for getting on the ballot to challenge Sepp Blatter, news emerges that another player may be about to bridge that Catalan/Castillian divide.
La Marca reported Real’s cheeky bid
According to the Daily Mail, La Marca has reported that Real have launched a bid for Korean starlet Seung Woo Lee.
Lee is just 17 but currently an innocent victim of the sanctions imposed on Barcelona by FIFA due to their financial irregularities.
Now both the bid, and the reporting, may just be mischief making.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled last month on Barcelona’s appeal against FIFA sanctions.
They upheld Barcelona’s transfer ban appeal and confirmed that the club has breached the rules regarding protection of minors. The verdict may be a step against the use of underage footballers but is keeping Lee on the sidelines for now.
Barca were found to be in breach ten times of Article 19 of ‘FIFA’s regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. FIFA regulations state that children under the age of 18 cannot change clubs across continents.
