Griezmann trains as Atletico step up derby preparations

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann eased fears over his fitness ahead of Saturday’s derby against Real Madrid by playing a full part in training on Thursday.

The Ballon d’Or nominee pulled out of France’s 0-0 friendly draw against Ivory Coast this week after sustaining a blow to his left foot during last Friday’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying triumph over Sweden.

X-rays confirmed Griezmann did not suffer a broken bone and Atletico defender Juanfran told Partidazo COPE that the 25-year-old was confident of facing Real at the Vicente Calderon.

It appears he will be as good as his word after joining Juanfran and his other team-mates for work with and without the ball on Thursday evening.

The penultimate training session to prepare the #AtletiRealMadrid starts at the Wanda Training Complex #GoAtleti pic.twitter.com/M2dk4pxzJj

— Atleti English (@atletienglish) November 17, 2016

Griezmann has scored eight times in 14 appearances across all competitions for Atletico this season and netted the only goal as Diego Simeone’s men claimed a 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu last season.