Real Madrid heavyweight set to return vs Athletic Club after recovering from head injury | OneFootball

After a couple of days off, Real Madrid players reconvened for training today at Valdebebas with an eye on their final game of the season against Athletic Club.

The Merengues take on the Basque club on Saturday night at the Santiago Bernabeu before bringing down the curtains on what has been a season to forget.

Federico Valverde set to return

Leading up to the game, AS reports that Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde will be back available to face Athletic Club on Saturday.

The Uruguayan has now completed his recovery period following his fight with Aurelien Tchouameni, an incident that ended with him being taken to the hospital to receive treatment for a head injury.

Set to return vs Athletic Club. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Valverde completed Real Madrid’s training session with the group on Wednesday at Valdebebas, and the club now consider the concussion protocol to be fully completed.

As such, the 27-year-old midfielder is fit again and will be available to play against Athletic Club this Saturday if Alvaro Arbeloa deems it appropriate.

Another player who has recovered is Andriy Lunin, who has now fully overcome his viral illness and will be available, although Thibaut Courtois is still expected to start.

As already reported, Arda Guler also participated in part of the session with the rest of the squad, but his involvement on Saturday remains highly unlikely.

Big game for Valverde

Real Madrid’s first captain for next season. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)

Having been the instigator in the incident that got out of hand and ended with a physical altercation, Valverde will be returning to play for the first time since the episode.

And, if he is cleared to play, it will be interesting to see how the Real Madrid fans greet him at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Uruguayan, after all, is all set to become the club captain next season, taking over from Dani Carvajal, who will play his final game for Real Madrid on Saturday.