Real Madrid injury news: Alvaro Carreras blow confirmed, Kylian Mbappe boost received before Man City Champions League clash

Real Madrid will be without left-back Alvaro Carreras for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 showdown with Manchester City at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old has played regularly for Los Blancos since joining from Benfica last summer, with only four outfield players making more appearances than the Spaniard (34) in all competitions.

Carreras most recently played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid’s 1-0 La Liga defeat at home to Getafe last week, before missing last Friday’s 2-1 away win over Celta Vigo through suspension.

The Spanish giants have since released a statement confirming that Carreras has picked up a calf injury ahead of their battle with Man City, presumably in training.

“After the tests carried out on our player Alvaro Carreras by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the calf of his right leg. Pending evolution,” the statement from the club's official website read.

In the absence of Carreras, Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia are both set to complete for a start at left-back in Wednesday’s first leg, with the former likely to get the nod from head coach Alvaro Arbeloa.

Mbappe back in training, but will he face Man City?

On a positive note, Real Madrid have received a positive update regarding top scorer Kylian Mbappe, with the forward pictured running in training on Monday.

Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 second leg win over Man City in the Champions League playoffs last season, has missed the last three games with a knee injury and underwent tests in Paris last week, as per journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Although Mbappe has returned to training, the Frenchman is unlikely to be involved against Man City and may instead target a return for next week’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Real Madrid have released images and footage of team training on Monday, while also confirming that six first-team stars, including Mbappe, are still in the process of recovering from injury.

“[David] Alaba, [Jude] Bellingham, [Dani] Ceballos, Mbappe, [Eder] Militao and Rodrygo are continuing their recovery processes,” a statement from Los Blancos read.

One player who is set to return to the first-team fold is midfielder Eduardo Camaviga, who has been spotted in training after missing the win over Celta Vigo following a dental problem.

Arbeloa is set to provide a fresh update on the fitness of his Real Madrid squad at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.