Vinícius Júnior will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s LaLiga clash with Mallorca after Álvaro Arbeloa said the Brazil star “had not been given much rest” by his former Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti.
Vinícius was one of only five players to play the full 90 minutes of Brazil’s 2-1 defeat by France last Thursday and he then clocked 67 minutes in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Croatia, with both games played in the United States.
With a Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Bayern Munich to follow on Tuesday night, Arbeloa will be careful with his star forward, who was in electric form before the international break with back-to-back braces against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid.
“He’s tired because my friend Carlo hasn’t given him much rest, which is normal,” Arbeloa said. “The demands at Real Madrid and Brazil are enormous.
“Vini has a heavy workload of matches. He hasn’t stopped for a single day, and today we’ll see how he is and then we’ll decide.”
While Vinícius took on a demanding schedule, Jude Bellingham did not feature in either of England’s friendlies despite being called up by Thomas Tuchel.
Spanish media company Marca reported that Madrid were unhappy with the treatment of their midfielder and would have preferred it if he had remained in Spain to work on building up his fitness following a recent hamstring injury.
However, Arbeloa played down the situation on Friday:
“Bellingham’s case was unique,” he said. “He played a few minutes against Atlético [on March 22], but his [international] manager didn’t want him to play, didn’t want to take any risks.
“Jude is smart enough to have good training sessions. I didn’t have any plan, the England manager did. For me, it’s not a problem that he’s not playing. For me, he’s going to be a key player and has to get back to his best, and that’s done by playing.
“He’s been out for a long time, and we’re going to have to take it step by step.”
Brazilian defender Éder Militão has returned to training during the break, and could be in line for a first appearance since December.
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“When he’s fit, he’s the best centre-back in the world,” Arbeloa said. “It feels like there are two players when he’s on the pitch. He’s intelligent, a leader, and a game-changer. I’m very happy with his return.”
With nine league games remaining, Madrid head to Mallorca four points behind rivals Barcelona, who are away to Atlético Madrid later on Saturday evening.
Madrid were on a five-game winning run before the international break and will hope it has not disrupted their rhythm.
“We have nine finals in LaLiga, and we no longer have any margin for error in any competition, neither in LaLiga nor in the Champions League,” Arbeloa added.
“We’re only thinking about Mallorca. It’s a very difficult match, and the current situation has set off a million alarms for me. When spring arrives, Real Madrid gives its best.”
Mallorca have lost five of their last seven matches, and sit one point from safety after a 2-1 loss at Elche last time out.
