Pepe and Fabio Coentrao miss last Real Madrid training session before Champions League final trip

Pepe and Fabio Coentrao were the only Real Madrid absentees during Thursday's (1 June) workout as the La Liga giants completed their last training session before travelling to Cardiff on Friday ahead of the Champions League final. The potential absence of the two defenders against Juventus will not be a major concern for Zinedine Zidane however as the two Portugal internationals were not expected to feature anyway.

Pepe, 34, has been a crucial player for the Spanish giants since his arrival from Porto in the summer of 2007.

However, the Portuguese star has seen his playing time restricted this campaign due to a number of injuries. He has been out of action since fracturing two ribs during the league draw against Atletico Madrid on 8 April.

The defender had been training with the rest of his teammates in recent weeks but the club have now revealed he was unable to take part in Thursday's workout.

Coentrao also trained away from his teammates as has been customary since the beginning of the campaign. Real Madrid have failed to explain the reason behind the left-back's absence but the former Benfica star has only made five appearances this season, having struggled with different issues since suffering a serious injury to his right thigh in April 2016.

"Zidane involved the Castilla player Enzo in a session heavily based on pressing, possession, sprints and shots on goal, before the team focussed on crossing and shooting. Pepe and Coentrão trained using the indoor facilities," the club confirmed.

Zidane said on Tuesday that he had all his 24 first-team players available for the Champions League final – and now has to rule out six in order to name a final 18-man squad.

The absences of the Pepe and Coentrao from the last training before the Friday's trip to Cardiff suggest that they could be among those to miss the game alongside third-choice goalkeeper Ruben Yanez.

The news could mean that the two Portugal defenders have played their last games for Real Madrid as they are out of contract this summer and negotiations over a new deal for the former have stalled. That is unlikely to disrupt Zidane's plans however as as they were not expected to face Juventus anyway.

Marcelo is expected to start at left-back barring a last minute injury while Raphael Varane is expected to partner captain Sergio Ramos in the heart of the defence - with versatile Nacho ready to serve as a back-up for both positions.

Meanwhile, Zidane will be hoping to avoid any other problems in the coming hours in order to have his strongest line-up ready for the final.

Dani Caravajal and Gareth Bale also missed the last weeks of La Liga due to different injuries but both are back to face Juventus. The Spaniard is expected to start ahead of Danilo at right-back but the Welshman may need to wait for his opportunity on the bench as Isco has been tipped to start in the attack alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.