'Irreplaceable' Real Madrid star trains alone ahead of crunch AC Milan clash

Doubts have emerged over the availability of Real Madrid's Federico Valverde after the indispensable midfielder trained alone ahead of the upcoming Champions League clash with AC Milan.

Valverde is the only player to have started all 15 of Real Madrid's matches this season, missing a grand total of 50 minutes for Carlo Ancelotti's side across the first three months of the campaign.

However, that ever-present status appears to be under threat.

Madrid were due to travel to face Valencia in La Liga on Saturday night - a game which had to be postponed in light of the tragic flooding in the region. The Spanish champions continued to train over the weekend for Tuesday's European tie against Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Valverde did not join in with the rest of his teammates.

Instead, Spanish publication MARCA report the Uruguay international was put through a light regimen on his own to manage his swollen workload, though this was thought to be more of a precautionary measure during a hectic schedule.

Valverde's involvement against Milan remains uncertain and doubts continue to linger over goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian shot-stopper had to sit out last weekend's thumping defeat to Barcelona, watching from the sidelines as Andriy Lunin conceded four goals without reply.

Courtois may well miss Milan's visit, but there is hope that Rodrygo, rumoured to be the subject of a big-money offer from Manchester City, could return from a muscular issue which also sidelined him for El Clasico.

Valverde may not be the most high profile member of Madrid's star-studded squad. The indefatigable midfielder doesn't offer Vinicius Junior's flair, Kylian Mbappe's goals or Jude Bellingham's star quality, but his absence would be keenly felt by Ancelotti, who hailed the team's new number eight as "irreplaceable" at the start of this season.

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