Real Madrid defender unlikely to return until February despite inclusion in Super Cup squad

Real Madrid flew to Saudi Arabia today as they get set to compete for their first trophy of the season in the Spanish Super Cup.

The Merengues will lock horns with Atletico Madrid on Thursday in the second semi-final and will hope to make it to the final on Sunday, where they could face one of Barcelona or Athletic Club.

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Xabi Alonso announced the squad list of players travelling to Jeddah for the tournament earlier today, with Kylian Mbappe being left out of the squad to recover from injury.

Dani Carvajal made his return after more than two months out, while fellow right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has also been included in squad in a surprise move.

Trent will not play

However, despite his inclusion in the squad, Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be ready to play in the Spanish Super Cup, reports MARCA.

In fact, the 27-year-old England international is not expected to make his comeback until February. His inclusion in the squad is only so that he can continue his recovery from injury while being in the group dynamics in Saudi Arabia.

Trent will not return until next month. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

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Trent has been out of action since early December due to a muscle tear and has been tipped to be out for at least two months.

It has been a difficult debut season for the England right-back, who had already missed a string of matches earlier in the campaign due to hamstring injury.

Now, even though he has been named in the squad for the Super Cup, there is zero possibility of him playing in Jeddah this week.

Instead, the plan is for Trent to make his comeback sometime in February, with no exact date set for his return to take place.

So far this season, Trent has played only 11 matches across all competitions, registering a solitary assist in the process.