Real Madrid center midfielder Eduardo Camavinga is a key cog in the midfield, and his absence has been missed over the past several weeks. The Frenchman went down with an injury to his hamstring on Nov. 28 against Liverpool in the Champions League.

Camavinga had to be subbed out in the 57th minute and has been unable to play since, necessitating the revival of Dani Ceballos, who has performed ably in the starting lineup since then, including in Bergamo on Tuesday night.

According to a report from MARCA’s Santiago Siguero, Camavinga has made good progress from the injury over the past couple of weeks and is expected to return next week.

On Dec. 18, Real Madrid will play in Doha, Qatar in one of the new international club tournaments, the Intercontinental Cup. It’s unclear who Real will play yet, but after Pachuca beat Botafogo 3-0, it will be the winner of Pachuca vs. Al-Ahly on Dec. 14.

Real Madrid should ease Camavinga back from injury, but they could use the match in Qatar as a tune-up game for the Frenchman. They won’t play their “A” team, but they want to win any match with a trophy on the line so expect some mix of “A” and “B” team players out there next Wednesday.