Real Madrid have been boosted by the return to training of midfielder Luka Modric, as Los Blancos' injury woes begin to clear.
Madrid's form has hit a dip recently as Modric was joined on the sidelines by important first-team players including Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Pepe, Sami Khedira and Fabio Coentrao.
Pepe returned to action after missing six games with a rib injury in Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg win at Schalke, and a club statement has confirmed that Modric is also close to playing again after being out since he picked up a thigh muscle injury on international duty with Croatia last November.
"Madrid completed a recovery session three days ahead of their La Liga encounter with Elche in the Martínez Valero Stadium," the statement read. "Modric's return to the group was the big news of the day during a training session in which the 10 outfield players who started in the victory against Schalke 04 exercised in the indoor facilities.
"Ramos, Khedira, James and Coentrao continued with their recovery work."
After Modric tore the thigh muscle on international duty with Croatia last November, his international coach Niko Kovac blamed Madrid for the problem, saying the midfielder had been overplayed by his club through the autumn.
The former Tottenham player was initially expected to return to training in mid-January, but he himself recently played down any problems with the treatment of the injury, telling Sportske Novosti that his recovery had progressed exactly as initially planned.
"Nothing at all has happened," Modric said. "I do not know where all these rumours come from, but I do not pay any attention to them. My recovery is going exactly as planned from the first day of the diagnosis. The doctors told me exactly what it was, how long it would take to recover fully, and I will play again, but you must go through the recovery process. It is all going very well.
"I will keep working, and be back soon. I know that with this type of injury, if you rush it, you run the risk of worsening the problem. The most important is to return to play at the level you were at before the injury. All I have done, including the recovery time in Belgium, the treatment in Vitoria [Basque Country] and the tests in Munich, has been in total agreement with everyone and under the supervision of Real Madrid's doctors."
Modric could return to the bench for Madrid's La Liga game at home to Villarreal on March 1.
No return date has yet been set for key players Ramos or James.