Carlo Ancelotti and his technical staff are not comfortable with involving Lucas Vazquez in the right-back position against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
This is what the “Relevo” network reported, which confirmed that the coach decided to take a risk with Fede Valverde and include him as a starter despite his injury.
The Uruguayan international missed Real Madrid’s last 3 matches due to a muscle injury, and his return to training was delayed amid rumors that he had not recovered from the injury yet.
Despite this, Ancelotti does not mind risking Valverde in order to secure the right flank defensively, especially since Lucas Vazquez has shown weakness that worries everyone inside the Santiago Bernabeu.
So far, there is great optimism that Valverde will recover fully and participate, or at worst, he will participate despite the pain, as he did against Manchester City in the last 16 play-off.
For his part, the 26-year-old wants to participate, whatever the consequences.
The performance of David Alaba in central defence forced Ancelotti to drop him and bring back Raul Asensio, and thus Vazquez became the only option available at right-back in Valverde’s absence.
