Arda Guler: Progress & potential return date for injured Real Madrid star

The wait for Arda Guler's highly anticipated Real Madrid debut drags on.

The Turkish playmaker signed for the club in the summer having quickly emerged as one of the continent's most exciting prospects. Guler's rise was swift, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid keen to acquire him after he broke through at Fenerbahce and starred with Turkey's national team.

A move to Catalonia once appeared close before Guler opted against joining Barca in favour of their Clasico rivals. As a result, the youngster immediately got into the good books of Madridistas. However, they've so far been left frustrated by Guler's inability to get onto the pitch.

Here's the latest on Guler's heavily scrutinised fitness.

When will Arda Guler return from injury?

Despite his youth, Guler was (and still is) expected to play at least a bit-part role for Carlo Ancelotti's transitioning side this season. While he'll find it hard to displace Jude Bellingham in the attacking midfield behind the strikers, Guler's talent will allow him to rotate with the Englishman when needed.

However, the 18-year-old underwent surgery after sustaining a knee injury in pre-season which means he's yet to make his debut for the club.

After missing Madrid's opening six La Liga games, hope emerged regarding Guler's status ahead of the club's meeting with Las Palmas on 27 September after the Turkish international returned to training.

Such optimism was fleeting, though, as Guler suffered another injury setback during the latter stages of a training session on the eve of the match. Madrid subsequently confirmed that the teenager had picked up "an injury to the left rectus femoris muscle"

As a result, Guler's debut was tentatively pencilled in for the first weekend after the October international break and a trip to Sevilla on 21 October. Unfortunately, this proved to be yet another false dawn.

Guler managed to take part in and actually complete a training session for Madrid at the start of October but Ancelotti quashed any aspirations of the Turkish teenager's imminent involvement by citing a lack of match sharpness. "He is quite good but he lacks a bit of condition," the Italian coach explained ahead of Madrid's meeting with Sevilla.

"He will have his moment, I think in ten days, two weeks, he will be at full fitness." Guler never even made it onto the pitch in preseason for Madrid, last featuring for Turkey on 19 June. Guler emerged from the bench to bend in a sumptuous strike that night, intensifying the race for his signature which Madrid won.

Perhaps in an attempt to remind the club's supporters precisely why £17.5m was spent on the 18-year-old, Ancelotti likened Guler to a fellow summer addition that has enjoyed a rather different start to life in Spain. "He is an offensive player," Ancelotti said of Guler, "he is not a centre-forward and he is more like Bellingham, a playmaker. He can play on the wing as well, cutting in, he can play in a lot of positions."

When Madrid's fans get to appreciate Guler's gifts for themselves remains to be seen.

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