Real Madrid forward joins pre-season camp ahead of Barcelona encounter

Real Madrid kick start their pre-season campaign in the United States later today as they take on AC Milan at the Soldier Stadium in Chicago.

The men in white will likely feature a team without many regular starters on the night considering that several internationals who played deep into July have not returned to training yet.

While players like Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga will only return after the ongoing event, the Brazilian contingent from Madrid was expected to land in Chicago today.

One player returns

As revealed on Rodrygo’s official Instagram handle, the player arrived in the United States and linked up with Carlo Ancelotti’s squad earlier today.

“Back, Real Madrid,” he wrote with a picture of him comfortably settled into his room.

While the youngster is indeed back with the team, he is only expected to return to training tomorrow. Needless to say, he will not participate in tonight’s clash against the Rossoneri.

Eyes on El Clasico

Vinicius Jr and Eder Militao will also return to training with the group by tomorrow and all three players, thus, have an eye on El Clasico.

The clash against Barcelona in New York will be held on August 3rd, giving the Brazilians just over 48 hours of training to get back in touch. They may thus not start the game, and a decision over their participation will be taken based on their fitness.

Ancelotti’s initial idea, however, is to try and give them minutes in the Clasico and slowly phase them back into the starting lineup in time for the beginning of the season.