Thiabut Courtois (28 years old) is in Madrid, where he has returned without having played for Belgium. As AS has learned, the goalkeeper had agreed on this scenario with Roberto Martínez because he wants to do the preseason with Real Madrid. He also wanted, a few nine months later, to be with his compatriots. For this reason, the Spanish coach had included four goalkeepers in his initial summons.
This Friday Courtois did not get on the plane that has taken his team to Denmark, where this Saturday he will play the first day of this new edition of the League of Nations. The madridista has returned to Spain after three days with his teammates from the national team. This practice is common in the Roberto Martínez era, who always wants to meet his players, even when for different reasons they cannot play. Thibaut will therefore not be with the Belgian Red Devils against the Danish team or on September 8 against Iceland.
Hazard could also return
Courtois's concentration with Belgium has been punctuated by a controversy surrounding the coronavirus. In his country they wrongly published that he had tested positive, which generated great anger in the footballer himself and in the Belgian Federation. That same afternoon he trained normally, showing a perfect state.
Who could follow in his footsteps is Eden Hazard, captain of Belgium. The madridista has not trained with the group because is following a special plan, as also agreed before moving to Tubize. As this newspaper said, within their selection they understand that these individualized sessions and a few minutes of competition against Denmark are the best possible preparation for later joining the Madrid preseason. This is expected to happen after tomorrow's match.