Dani Carvajal misses Real Madrid training session before Champions League trip to Bayern Munich

Real Madrid star Dani Carvajal was a surprising absentee from Monday's training session as Los Blancos continue the preparations for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night (12 April). The news could be a new concern for manager Zinedine Zidane as both Raphael Varane and Pepe are already ruled out for the trip to Germany due to different injury problems.

Carvajal, 25, is the first-choice right-back ahead of Danilo, and played the full 90 minutes during Saturday's 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid.

Zidane deployed his strongest line-up in the Madrid derby as the game was expected to be crucial in Los Blancos hope to beat Barcelona for the La Liga title.

The draw was first seen as a blow for Los Blancos but eventually it turned out to be positive after hours later Barcelona suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat at Malaga, leaving Real Madrid three points ahead at the top of La Liga table and with one game in hand.

However, the point secured against Diego Simeone's side also came at a price for Real Madrid after Pepe was forced off with broken ribs only minutes after scoring the opener for Los Blancos.

The Portuguese centre-back has consequently joined long-term casualty Varane in the treatment room for at least a month, leaving Zidane with only two centre-backs available in Sergio Ramos and Nacho ahead of the coming trip to Bayern.

Yet the manager could be given a new concern to form his back-line after the club revealed that Carvajal failed to train with the rest of his available teammates on Monday.

"Real Madrid held the last training session before traveling to Munich to face Bayern at the Allianz Arena (8:45pm CEST), in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Carvajal trained inside, while Varane and Pepe continue their recovery processes," the club confirmed.

The club have failed to detail the reasons behind his absence but reports in Spain are suggesting that the right-back only has a minor knock, and should be available to make the line-up when Los Blancos visit the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. Yet, if the problems remain, Danilo may need to step up to stop Arjen Robben and Co.