Real Madrid welcome back Courtois as Valverde misses Racing Santander clash

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has recalled goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to his squad for Sunday’s La Liga meeting with Racing Santander, but Federico Valverde remains unavailable for the fixture at El Sardinero on 01 November 2026.

Courtois missed the previous match against Barcelona because of influenza but has recovered in time to be included. Valverde, however, has not fully recovered from the injury he sustained during the Clasico and was ruled out by Mourinho at his news conference on Saturday.

Mourinho is expected to consider Denzel Dumfries at right-back in Valverde’s absence. The Netherlands international has been given more playing time than Trent Alexander-Arnold since Mourinho took charge, although neither player has established himself as a regular starter.

Courtois’ return does not guarantee that he will go straight back into the starting line-up. The Belgium goalkeeper’s absence against Barcelona gave Andriy Lunin the opportunity to play, and the Ukrainian earned praise from Mourinho for his performance.

Mourinho also acknowledged that Lunin had not yet been given as much playing time as he deserved. If Courtois is left out from the start against Racing Santander, Lunin could be handed another appearance in either La Liga or the Copa del Rey.

The squad also includes Eder Militao after the defender recovered from injury. Mourinho intends to build up his minutes gradually as he works towards restoring him to the starting XI. The manager considers Militao an important part of Real Madrid’s defence.

Real Madrid squad to face Racing Santander:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Mestre.

Defenders: Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Marc Cucurella, Alvaro Carreras, Antonio Rudiger and Denzel Dumfries.

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Arda Guler, Bernardo Silva and Thiago.

Forwards: Endrick, Kylian Mbappe, Espe, Brahim Diaz and Yan Diomande.