According to AS, Courtois has recovered and will play against Schalke.

The report states that Real Madrid's 2026-27 preseason journey began with Lunin as the starting goalkeeper, but now Courtois will guard the goal. The Belgian will make his first preseason appearance today, which will also be his last warm-up before the start of the new season. There is only a short time until the team's first La Liga match of the new season, but for Courtois, this amount of time is already sufficient. After all, having played for 17 years and made 686 appearances in his career, he is already adept at such short preparation periods.

Nevertheless, Courtois cut his vacation short by a few days to return to the team, hoping to "make up" for the training he missed due to a minor injury during the World Cup. However, despite this, the match against Schalke 04 will still be the starting point for his new season, and this season will bring many changes for him...

First, Luis Llopis is no longer by his side. For the past 8 years, the two have been inseparable. Llopis, recognized as a goalkeeping training expert, has now left Real Madrid's coaching staff. Nuno Santos, a coach deeply trusted by Mourinho, is now responsible for Real Madrid's goalkeeping training.

Mourinho is also one of the changes Courtois faces in the new season. Of course, this is not entirely unfamiliar, as the two worked together at Chelsea in the 2014-15 season, but in the world of football, a decade is still enough to bring about huge changes. A few days ago, the Belgian goalkeeper told Real Madrid TV: "José tells it like it is, and I like that..."

For Courtois, this holiday was more like a "restart," or even a very necessary reset. In recent years, the Belgian national team has brought him more troubles than joy, and this World Cup did not change that trend. He had previously had conflicts with Tedesco, and even temporarily left the "Red Devils." During the World Cup, in the quarter-final match between Spain and Belgium, Ruddy-Garcia's decision to substitute him due to that injury also sparked much discussion.

Both the substitution process itself and the subsequent impact made this experience unpleasant. Courtois was diagnosed with a minor muscle injury after returning from the United States, but he recovered before starting preseason training. This injury never threatened his upcoming new season debut.

Courtois has reached an oral agreement with Real Madrid on a contract extension, and the club is also planning the goalkeeper lineup for the next few seasons around the Belgian goalkeeper. In addition to Courtois, Real Madrid also has the reliable Lunin, as well as youth academy goalkeepers Fran González and Javi Navarro, who are currently being developed.

As AS previously reported, Real Madrid currently has no intention of investing in new goalkeepers in the short term. Although Courtois missed 9 games last season due to different physical problems, and 14 games the season before, the club remains confident in the abilities of this world-class goalkeeper.

Courtois has reached an agreement with Real Madrid to extend his existing contract, which was originally set to expire in June 2027. As long as the Belgian is willing to continue playing and can maintain his physical condition, he will remain an important part of the Real Madrid squad.

Courtois's Real Madrid story is far from over.

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