Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has reportedly been ruled out of Tuesday's clash with Manchester City, taking the Spanish side's number of absences to three.
City travel to the Bernabeu for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in great spirits after making it 20 games without defeat with a 2-1 win over Leeds United on Saturday and ensuring they kept their spot at the top of the table. Madrid are 14 points off leaders Barcelona in La Liga but will be buoyed by their Copa del Rey triumph over Osasuna on the weekend.
Pep Guardiola's side will be hoping to exact revenge on Los Blancos following their heartbreaking elimination at the hands of the eventual winners at the same stage last season. The Blues are sweating on the fitness of Nathan Ake after the defender limped off with what appeared to be another hamstring injury against Leeds but otherwise have a fully fit squad.
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Madrid, meanwhile, look set to be without three important players for the match. The latest injury blow has been suffered by Ceballos, who is set for a week to 10 days on the sidelines with a muscular problem in his thigh, reports Marca. It's added that the former Arsenal man will be missed as Carlo Ancelotti is planning to utilise as much of his squad as possible in the tie and star playmaker Luka Modric is not at 100 per cent.
Meanwhile, left-back Ferland Mendy has missed the last 11 matches after suffering a calf injury during training at the end of March. The Frenchman is back in individual training but is not yet fit enough to return to action.
Another defensive blow for Madrid comes in the form of Eder Militao. The centre-back picked up his third booking of the competition in the quarter-final second leg against Chelsea and is suspended for the visit of City.
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