Mendy causes alarm

Ferland Mendy (25 years old) begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The French full-back, who has only played one game with Real Madrid since May (the defeat in the Champions League against Chelsea), is rushing to start rejoining the group led by Ancelotti. The idea that is handled is that, if everything goes well, after the current stoppage of selections, return with the rest of the players..

The side you are taking the necessary steps to make your return as appropriate as possible. With him, the club's medical services have gone slowly, without anticipating anything so that his injury, a tibial periostitis, does not go down temporarily: an inflammation whose recovery time was estimated between three and six weeks has been in the dry dock for almost four months (His last game was played in May, but of the last ten games that Madrid played last season, he only played against the Blues with 63 minutes).

This week he has already been seen going out for a run in Valdebebas. He has even started to touch the ball, when it is an injury that required total rest, so it is clear that he has improved in that regard. In fact, at first he could not do continuous running because the mere impact of the sole with the grass already caused him pain. Another thing is when he will be discharged from competition, a term that Aitor Karanka made fashionable when talking about the return of Iker Casillas after his hand injury in 2013. The loss of muscle mass you have suffered while standing is evident on defense, as you can see in the image below (the photo on the left is from the first days of preseason, while the second is from last January). The difference is remarkable …

Mendy, who has not wanted to listen to any possible type of offer or any possibility of leaving the Madrid team, went on vacation, missing the European Championship due to this injury. He returned with the affected area still not fully restored, although he has advanced in these two months of preseason. The defender, who faces his third season as a madridista, you now have two challenges before you. The first is to fully recover from his illness and the second is to maintain his status as the undisputed head of the white rearguard.