An all-important Brazilian made his return to team training at Valdebebas on Wednesday following a second coronavirus scare.
Real Madrid’s Casemiro has tested negative for COVID-19 and is in contention to feature in the crunch La Liga clash against Villarreal.
The defensive-minded midfielder was first tested positive in the first week of November and subsequently missed the trip to Valencia. His absence was heavily felt as Los Blancos were handed a thorough 4-1 beating.
A week ago, he tested positive yet again along with forward Eden Hazard and defender Eder Militao.
Hazard and Militao are still observing a period of self-isolation at home but Casemiro was a part of Wednesday morning’s team training ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to the Ceramica.
“Happy. Thank you very much for all the messages of good wishes and support,” Casemiro wrote in a Twitter post.
“I will try to return that love to you in a way that I know best… on the pitch. And above all, take care of yourself. Hala Madrid!”
The Brazilian is the anchor of the team and his return will be a huge boost for Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane, however, is still without many of his key players including Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Federico Valverde. Nacho Fernandes, Dani Carvajal, and Alvaro Odriozola are also not match-fit as all of them are only just coming out of their respective recovery programs.