Real Madrid send Tiago Pitarch to Castilla as Mourinho plans route back from injury

Real Madrid have drawn up an intensive plan to help Tiago Pitarch regain his fitness and return to contention under manager Jose Mourinho.

The Morocco and Spain dual national will join reserve side Castilla during the current international break, giving him the opportunity to rebuild his fitness and gain valuable playing time while the first team is not in action.

According to Marca, the decision follows a knee injury that forced Pitarch to miss Real Madrid’s pre-season preparations. He has not yet reached the physical level required to feature for the senior side.

Pitarch has returned to the Real Madrid squad but played no part in their four matches against Inter, Rayo Vallecano, Elche and Atletico Madrid. His move to Castilla is intended to provide the competitive minutes he has been unable to secure with Mourinho’s team.

He is expected to be available to Julian Lopez de Lerma on Wednesday, when Castilla play their postponed match against Sant Andreu.

Real Madrid will not play again until 10 October because of the international break. In the meantime, Castilla are scheduled to play three league matches, including a derby. Those fixtures are expected to form an important part of Pitarch’s three-week conditioning programme before he is considered again for the first team.

The midfielder could also be called up by Spain Under-20s for their match against Mexico on 30 September. Pitarch may feature in that game, although the fixture’s timing has not yet been confirmed after the original plan to stage it in Ceuta was cancelled.

Pitarch has not played for two and a half months. His most recent appearance came in Spain’s UEFA European Under-19 Championship final on 11 July.

He suffered an injury shortly after returning to training at Valdebebas and has not played a single minute since. The Castilla fixtures, together with a possible involvement with Spain Under-20s, could therefore give him the chance to rebuild match fitness before returning to Mourinho’s plans at Real Madrid.