Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was supposedly involved in a training ground altercation with a teammate ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Arsenal.
Los Blancos are facing mission improbable at the Bernabeu, where they will have to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Mikel Arteta's side to keep their defence of their European crown alive.
Carlo Ancelotti's men succumbed to two Declan Rice free kicks and a Mikel Merino strike at the Emirates last week, where Bellingham and his fellow attackers were all nullified by the Arsenal defence.
Real at least managed to restore some parity over the weekend by edging out Alaves 1-0 in La Liga, and preparations for the visit of Arsenal to the Spanish capital are now in full swing.
However, those preparations are seemingly not going swimmingly, as according to El Chiringuito - via the Evening Standard - Bellingham and Antonio Rudiger had to be separated during a training session.
Bellingham 'reacted angrily' to bad Rudiger tackle
© Imago
The report claims that Rudiger put in a crunching challenge on Bellingham in a small-sided game, which triggered a furious response from the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund starlet.
Rudiger and Bellingham's teammates allegedly had to step in to break up the pair while the training exercise was halted, although there was no bad blood in the aftermath.
Arsenal boss Arteta is no stranger to witnessing training ground fights himself, as shown in the Gunners' All or Nothing Amazon Prime documentary from the 2021-22 season.
The cameras showed Cedric Soares squaring up to Alexandre Lacazette after the Frenchman brought down an academy player from behind, forcing other players to separate them before they buried the hatchet.
However, Rudiger and Bellingham will ostensibly be fine to take their places in the first XI on Wednesday, where the former is expected to join forces with Raul Asencio in defence.
Meanwhile, Bellingham - who has registered 13 goals and 13 assists in 43 appearances for Los Blancos this term - is primed to start in the number 10 position as part of the fearsome front four with Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
What are the stats saying ahead of Real Madrid vs. Arsenal?
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While Real Madrid have previous when it comes to eliminating English sides from the Champions League with wonderful Bernabeu comebacks - see Manchester City and Chelsea - the odds are stacked in Arsenal's favour.
The Gunners' first-leg win represented the 48th time that a team has won a UCL knockout first leg by three goals or more, and of the 47 previous occasions, that team has advanced 43 times.
Real Madrid have also failed to keep a single clean sheet at home in the Champions League this season, while Arsenal - for all of their attacking absences - are on an eight-game scoring sequence in all competitions.
Click here for a full list of the best pre-game statistics ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Arsenal, including both sides' penalty records in the Champions League and the unprecedented clean sheet feat that the Gunners could achieve.
Ben Knapton
