Chelsea handed injury boost ahead of Real Madrid showdown

Real Madrid will be without Raphael Varane for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.

The centre-half picked up a muscle injury in their 2-0 win over Osasuna at the weekend as the Frenchman was taken off in the first half.

And further tests revealed he will miss the crucial tie at Stamford Bridge as Los Blancos look to reach the final in Istanbul.

Chelsea have an away goal advantage following their 1-1 draw in Spain as Karim Benzema cancelled out Christian Pulisic's opener.

Varane isn't the only injury problem for Los Blancos either as it remains to be seen if Federico Valverde will return in time after his positive coronavirus test that kept him out of the first leg.

Daniel Carvajal and Lucas Vaquez will be missing too after the pair were ruled out until the end of the season.

Club captain Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy should be in contention, however, as they returned to training ahead of Wednesday's fixture.

Marcelo should also available after serving his civic duty as a Spanish citizen at an election centre on Tuesday.

Eden Hazard is still getting up to speed after a spell on the sidelines but he'll be vying for a starting spot against his former employers after getting another game under his belt against Osasuna.

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