The lively presence of full-back Marc Cucurella provided the main boost from Sunday's session. The Spain international had been forced off in visible discomfort late on at La Cartuja, making way for Alvaro Carreras in the closing stages after being struck down by severe muscle cramps.

Further encouragement came as French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, Brazilian forward Endrick and Thiago Pitarch all sidelined by injury in recent weeks rejoined group training on Sunday, even if Tuesday's clash is expected to come too soon for their match returns. Meanwhile, French defender Ferland Mendy, Brazilian duo Rodrygo and Militao, and Raul Asencio all continued with their individual recovery programmes.

Following a day off on Saturday, the Real Madrid squad reported back for duty on Sunday at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas training complex.

Those who started the fixture against Betis carried out specific recovery work, while the remainder of the group took part in tactical drills, pressing routines and ball-progression work. To round off the session, Jose Mourinho oversaw a series of small-sided matches on pitches of varying dimensions.

Real Madrid launch their Champions League campaign looking to bounce back from their defeat against Betis, which marked their first loss of the season.

Jose Mourinho's side step onto the European stage against one of his former clubs, Inter Milan, amid a significant midfield headache.

Portugal playmaker Bernardo Silva, Turkey's Arda Guler and France international Eduardo Camavinga are all ruled out through suspension. The Portuguese midfielder was dismissed for Manchester City during their tie against Real Madrid, while Camavinga and Guler both saw red in the quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

Further complicating matters is Tchouameni, who, despite his return to the grass, has been out of action for over a month, making an appearance on Tuesday highly unlikely. The same situation applies to Thiago Pitarch.

A. Tchouaméni

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