Atletico without Koke
Koke has been left out of the Atletico Madrid squad for the derby with Real Madrid after failing to recover in time for the crunch match. The midfielder picked up a hamstring injury in Atleti's 2-0 win at Eibar last month and has not played since. Coach Diego Simeone confirmed Koke's absence on Saturday as he announced his 18-man squad for the derby, revealing that the star was ruled out of the clash. Atleti have lost two of the three games Koke has missed.
James, Danilo and Pepe set to miss derby
Bad news for Real Madrid as three potential starters will miss Sunday's derby against Atletico Madrid. James, Danilo and Pepe could not complete today's training session with the rest of the squad.
Belief was that James was ahead of schedule in the road to recovery, but according to Caracol Radio, the player suffered a relapse from his muscular injury. While Danilo trained by himself he is not ready to take contact on his injured foot just yet. Pepe is still bothered by his physical problems and given that Ramos and Varane are ready, it seems smart to let him recover properly.
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