Robben up and running

Heinze and Cannavaro rejoin the squad and hope to play against Valencia

Following their 3-1 win over Deportivo on Sunday, Real Madrid were back at work preparing for Wednesday's midweek clash against Valencia. Last night's starters worked out in the gym while their teammates took to the Valdebebas turf. Robben jogged for the first time since being injured, and Heinze and Cannavaro trained with the squad without incident.

Just as expected on days following official matches, Real Madrid were divided into two groups on Monday. Those who started last night's match against Deportivo stayed in the gym while their teammates -Drenthe, Soldado, Torres, Dudek, Sneijder, Balboa, Diarra, Pepe, Baptista, Codina, Raúl, Heinze, and Cannavaro- were outdoors on the turf to train under the orders of Jordi García.

The outdoor squad kicked the morning off with an intense warmup before dividing into two more groups. Jordi García accompanied Baptista, Diarra, Torres, Soldado, Balboa, and Drenthe, who completed a slalom pole and mini-hurdle obstacle course designed to improve reaction time, explosiveness, and dribbling.
Sneijder, Cannavaro, Heinze, Raúl, and Pepe, meanwhile, were looked after by Valter Di Salvo. The Italian fitness expert had the five players jog before suicide drills. It looks like both Cannavaro and Heinze have recovered from their respective injuries, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if Schuster activates them for Wednesday.

For the first time since tearing a thigh muscle, Arjen Robben set foot on the practise pitch for a light jogging and running session with José Luis San Martín.