Real Madrid will lock horns with arch-rivals Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Thursday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ahead of the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti is sweating over the fitness of several players. Ferland Mendy is still recovering from his injury and is very much likely to miss out against Barça.

David Alaba, who picked up an injury during the game against Liverpool last week, is also set to be absent, as he is expected to be out for a month.

However, in somewhat of a boost, Rodrygo Goes could recover in time to play the semi-final first leg against the Catalan giants on Thursday night.

This claim comes from Edu Aguirre, who reports that there are good chances that the Brazilian could be ready for the Copa del Rey semi-final Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Rodrygo, like Alaba, picked up an injury during the UEFA Champions League encounter versus Liverpool last week. The 22-year-old hurt his gluteus muscle and was expected to be out of action for at least ten days, casting doubts over his involvement in the Barcelona clash.

However, in a positive update, Aguirre is claiming that Rodrygo could return to feature against the La Liga leaders in the cup semi-final.

It must be noted that the Brazilian was not part of the training session today, but with still a couple of days left before the game, there could be time for him to recover and make himself available for the important El Clasico.

Real Madrid are not the only time hit by injuries heading into the game as Barcelona will also be without three important players in the form of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski, with the latter getting injured last night against UD Almeria.

Source: madriduniversal.com