MADRID, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Zinedine Zidane held his first training session with Real Madrid since his shock return to the club as first team coach, less than 10 months after stepping down at the end of May 2018.
The man, who led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in two and a half seasons in charge, began to prepare for Saturday's Liga Santander game at home to struggling Celta Vigo.
Madrid have several players out through injury, with Vinicius Jr, Dan Carvajal, Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez all working to recover from muscle injuries, while Casemiro will miss Zidane's return to the Bernabeu through suspension.
Gareth Bale, who has been the subject of a lot of speculation regarding his future, was insulted by a group of fans as he arrived at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training ground and everything points to him leaving the club over the summer.
There is plenty of speculation that midfielder Isco, who was virtually ostracized under Zidane's predecessor, Santiago Solari, could be back in the starting 11 at the weekend - something made easier by Vinicius' injury, while Marco Asensio, who has also struggled to make an impact this campaign, could also start.
Finally the Spanish press have also considered how Zidane's return could affect Real Madrid players currently out on loan and conclude it will be good news for defender Achraf Hamini, who is currently at Borussia Dortmund.
However, it is likely to be bad news for Croatian international, Mateo Kovacic, who is at Chelsea, with the club expected to sell him to finance a massive summer spending spree.
