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Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, and Eder Militao have returned to training for Real Madrid on Monday (December 26) after their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign with Brazil, as per Managing Madrid.
Le Selecao were eliminated against Croatia in the quarter-finals of the competition on penalties. Vinicius played four times for his national team in Qatar, scoring one goal and assisting a further two.
Militao also played four times, while Rodrygo assisted once in five outings at the World Cup.
Vinicius has been the Spanish side's standout performer this season with 10 goals and five assists in 21 games across competitions this campaign.
However, it remains to be seen if the trio will be used by manager Carlo Ancelotti for the La Liga clash against Real Valladolid on December 30. Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, and Luka Modric are yet to return to the team.
Ancelotti would likely prefer to start players who have trained with Los Blancos in the past couple of weeks. He was reportedly unhappy with his team's players focusing on the FIFA World Cup before club football paused midway through the season.
However, with the event in Qatar now over, he will hope that Madrid can claw their way back to the top of the table. A run of three games with just one league win saw Barcelona go top of the league table last month.
They currently lead Real Madrid by two points after 14 game weeks.
Karim Benzema wants to retire at Real Madrid - Reports
According to journalist Rodra of Relevo, Karim Benzema could retire at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old recently announced his retirement from France's national team after their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign. However, he still has around 18 months left on his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.
His original deal was scheduled to expire at the end of the season. However, it is believed that his Ballon d'Or win in October activated a one-year extension clause in his contract.
Benzema has reportedly registered himself in the city of Madrid. He has processed the documentation process to the Civil Registry Service in the Madrid City Council.
He is a living legend for Los Merengues, having scored 329 goals and provided 160 assists in 617 games across competitions. However, fitness issues have restricted him to playing seven La Liga games this campaign.
His aging body and the decline in ability that comes with it has apparently nudged Real Madrid into the direction of signing a replacement for him. Cody Gakpo of PSV Eindhoven is one such name linked to them.
