Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has seemingly emerged as an injury doubt for the second leg of Los Blancos' Champions League last-16 tie against Liverpool.
The Ballon d'Or winner came up with a second-half brace at Anfield in the first leg, as Real put one foot firmly in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 5-2 demolition job.
Benzema's brace followed a double for Vinicius Junior - who cancelled out Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah's efforts - while Eder Militao was also on target.
Barring a fanciful four-goal collapse in front of their own fans, the reigning champions ought to book their spot in the last eight, with the second leg taking place on Wednesday evening.
However, Carlo Ancelotti has been handed an untimely concern over Benzema, who has missed team training for the past couple of days due to an ankle injury.
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The 35-year-old, who has been plagued by several fitness problems in the current season, sustained the issue in the weekend's goalless draw with Real Betis and has not been seen with the team on the practice pitches since.
Benzema has been restricted to individual work in the gymnasium as he continues his recovery, although he is believed to have worked with the ball at his feet on the turf during Thursday's session.
Ancelotti is likely to avoid risking Benzema for Saturday's La Liga showdown with Espanyol, but The Athletic states that he is not nursing anything too serious and may be able to play against Liverpool.
Nevertheless, fresh uncertainty over Benzema's fitness is far from ideal for Real Madrid, who have already been without the striker for 13 games this season due to a spate of muscular problems.
When fit, the former Lyon man has continued to prove his worth to Real Madrid, scoring 18 goals and setting up five more in 27 appearances across all competitions this season.
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Benzema's overall record for Los Blancos now stands at a whopping 341 goals and 164 assists from 632 games for the Spanish and European champions - only Cristiano Ronaldo (450) has struck more for the capital giants.
The ex-France international is not the only fitness concern for Ancelotti, who is expected to be without David Alaba for Wednesday's second leg after the Austrian picked up a hamstring injury at Anfield.
Ferland Mendy is also still recovering from the thigh problem he sustained against Atletico Madrid back in January, but the left-back is now back in full training, and Antonio Rudiger was with the team on Thursday after missing Wednesday's session as a precaution.
The Spanish champions currently sit nine points behind leaders Barcelona in the La Liga table, having amassed 53 points from 24 matches in the 2022-23 campaign.
Ben Knapton
