Real Madrid will be without the services of five players for Sunday night's La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao.
Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni remain on the sidelines through injury, and they have been joined by Eden Hazard, who picked up an ankle problem in training last week.
Vazquez is a long-term absentee due to the ankle injury that he picked up in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup against Valencia earlier this month.
Carvajal has recently been out with a muscular issue, while neither Alaba nor Tchouameni travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup due to calf problems.
However, Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti has said that Carvajal, Alaba and Tchouameni will be able to return next week, potentially for the Copa del Rey quarter-final with Atletico Madrid.
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"The team, little by little, with the games, is improving its physical condition, it is making progress. Carvajal, Alaba and Tchouameni can return next week," the head coach told reporters on Saturday.
Alvaro Odriozola is the only natural right-back in the squad, but Nacho is widely expected to feature in that area of the field on Sunday night, as was the case against Villarreal in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
Real Madrid came from two goals behind to beat Villarreal 3-2 in the cup, and Ancelotti is desperate for his side to avoid similar defensive mistakes in the game with Athletic.
"The reaction in Villarreal was very good. We played effective football, but we made mistakes too," the Italian added.
"We looked at videos to avoid those mistakes and not repeat them. Tomorrow's game is very difficult, intensity and ideas will be important, and not to give away what we've been giving away.
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"We have some errors in positioning and reading, sometimes we don't press and we have time for it, sometimes the line is not together. Sometimes we go out to press when we shouldn't go out.
"Our area is a friend, it's not an enemy, that's what I tell the players. We have to control our area well. Anything that can get behind the line can be a danger, so controlling it well is fundamental. Before pressing, we have to control the back line well."
Real Madrid have not been in La Liga action since suffering a 2-1 loss to Villarreal on January 7.
Los Blancos are currently three points behind division leaders Barcelona, but the gap could be six by the time that they take to the field at San Mames.
Real Madrid squad vs. Athletic Bilbao:
Courtois, Lunin, Lopez; Militao, Vallejo, Nacho, Odriozola, Rudiger, Mendy; Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Ceballos; Benzema, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Mariano
Matt Law
