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Carlo Ancelotti reportedly believes Vinicius Junior could make a comeback for Real Madrid in their La Liga derby against Atletico Madrid on 24 September.
The Brazilian superstar injured his hamstring in Los Blancos' 1-0 league win against Celta Vigo on 25 August and came off in the 18th minute for Joselu. Jude Bellingham's late goal ensured all three points for the visitors.
The club apparently did not set a return date for Vinicius from his injury to avoid any pressure on the player. But as per El Nacional, Real Madrid's medical team have done their part in ensuring an early return for Ancelotti's star man up front.
The Italian tactician supposedly believes Vinicius could be fit to take the field for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid after the international break. Before that, the La Liga giants have a league game against Real Sociedad and a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Union Berlin.
The Real Madrid winger is expected to be sidelined from both games after also missing their 2-1 La Liga win over Getafe on 2 September. Along with Rodrygo Goes, he is Los Merengues' star man in attack tasked with replacing Karim Benzema, who left for Al-Ittihad in the summer.
So far, the 23-year-old has scored once in his three league appearances this season. During the last campaign, he registered an impressive tally of 23 goals and 21 assists in 55 games across competitions.
Carlo Ancelotti says Vinicius' absence won't alter Real Madrid's set-up
In the absence of Karim Benzema, Carlo Ancelotti has devised a formation that features a diamond in midfield and two forwards up top.
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes have played as the two forwards while Jude Bellingham plays in the No. 10 role. But even with Vinicius sidelined due to an injury, Ancelotti wants to stay true to his set-up.
The former Chelsea and AC Milan manager said before the 2-1 win against Getafe, via ManagingMadrid:
"Obviously losing Vinícius means we lose one of the most decisive players. Our idea of play doesn’t change. We’re not changing the formation. We’ll replace him with a player with different characteristics and we’ll try to adapt our attacking play. We could replace him with Joselu or Brahim or with a midfielder."
Joselu replaced Vinicius in the win against Celta Vigo and started in the Brazilian's place against Getafe. The trend could continue after the international break until Vinicius' return to action.
