Vinicius Jr. is serving his four-match La Liga suspension with a personal preseason of sorts — double training sessions at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas complex and at his home — as the club looks to unlock the Brazilian forward ahead of his return to domestic play against Celta Vigo on Nov. 21, elmundo.es reported.
The winger, suspended until the second half of November after an incident against Villarreal in which he pulled William Saliba’s hair and protested to the referee, is back on the pitch in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, when Real Madrid travels to Athens to face AEK. The European competition offers Vinicius his first competitive minutes since the ban, and club officials hope it can serve as the starting point for a resurgence, the report said.
Sources at Valdebebas describe the 25-year-old as “blocked,” a term that captures the frustration inside the club and within the player himself over his slow start to the season and the rise of Moussa Diomande, who has taken over the left flank in his absence.
Four Matches Out, and a Reckoning at Valdebebas
The suspension was confirmed by the competition committee after the Villarreal match, and the club’s internal reaction, per elmundo.es, was that Vinicius use the time away from La Liga action to train like it was a preseason — splitting his days between the club’s facilities and his home, where he has been working with his trusted fitness coach, Thiago Lobo.
Vinicius has one goal and three assists across the entire season, while Diomande has four goals and three assists in his last six matches, the vast majority of them coming from the left wing — Vinicius’s usual lane.
From Indiscutible to Substituted at the Hour Mark
Vinicius began the season as an undisputed starter under the coach, but his status has slipped match by match, to the point where he has been substituted around the 60th minute in several games. Two of those substitutions marked turning points: at the Metropolitano against Atlético Madrid, where Diomande was the standout of the final minutes, and in Rome, where the team rallied late to come back and win — a result that has served as an emotional boost for the season, according to the report.
The coaching plan is to move Diomande back to the right side when Vinicius returns, but that decision is not locked in the way it would be if the Brazilian’s form were at another level, elmundo.es reported. The Ivorian’s production has forced the club to keep its options open.
Champions League in Athens Offers the First Test
Wednesday’s Champions League match against AEK in Athens gives Vinicius his first chance to play competitive football since the Villarreal incident. For a player described as blocked, the European stage is being treated inside the club as a release valve — and a chance to prove that the double sessions have changed something.
The real measuring stick, though, comes 40 days after the Villarreal match: Nov. 21 at home against Celta Vigo, when the La Liga suspension expires and Real Madrid must play without the international break pause that has interrupted the schedule.
Clubs Prepare Vinicius for Return
The competition committee handed down a four-match ban for pulling William Saliba’s hair and protesting to the referee during the match against Villarreal, according to the report.
Moussa Diomande has started on the left wing, Vinicius’s usual side, and has four goals and three assists in his last six matches, elmundo.es reported.
What is Real Madrid doing to help Vinicius during his suspension? Club sources say he has been running double sessions — mornings at Valdebebas and afternoons at home with fitness coach Thiago Lobo — during the suspension, the report said.
The next confirmed checkpoint is Wednesday’s Champions League match against AEK in Athens, followed by the La Liga return against Celta Vigo on Nov. 21.
