Real Madrid could reportedly have Rodrygo back in their squad for Thursday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg with Barcelona at Bernabeu.

The 22-year-old was missing against Atletico Madrid on Saturday due to the injury that he picked up against Liverpool in the Champions League on February 21.

"Following tests carried out today on Rodrygo by the Real Madrid medical services, an injury to the left piriformis muscle has been confirmed. His progress will be monitored," read a statement by Real Madrid when the problem was confirmed.

The Spanish and European champions did not put a timeframe on his absence, but it had been thought that he would be missing against Barcelona on Thursday night.

According to journalist Jose Luis Sanchez, the Brazil international trained alongside his teammates on Tuesday, putting him in contention to return to the squad against Barcelona.

Sanchez claims that a final decision on the attacker will be made on Wednesday, and Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will not be taking any chances when it comes to his player's fitness.

The South American has been in strong form for Los Blancos during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 10 goals and registering eight assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

Rodrygo has netted twice in three Copa del Rey outings this term, and his return would be a huge boost for Real Madrid considering that David Alaba and Ferland Mendy are definitely out of the contest.

Despite having Mariano Diaz available against Atletico, Ancelotti turned to Alvaro Rodriguez in the Madrid derby on Saturday, and the teenager came up with a late leveller in the La Liga affair.

Real Madrid will face Real Betis and Espanyol in their next two league matches before welcoming Liverpool for the second leg of their last-16 Champions League affair, boasting a 5-2 advantage from the first game.

Barcelona have injury problems of their own heading into El Clasico, with leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski set to miss out with the issue that he suffered against Almeria on Sunday.

Pedri and Ousmane Dembele are also absent through injury, but Ansu Fati could be back in the squad after missing the loss to Almeria due to a knee problem that the suffered in training.

After a long unbeaten run, Barcelona have now lost their last two matches against Manchester United and Almeria, with the defeat to the former seeing them knocked out of the Europa League. body check tags ::