Mourinho leaves out Lass for Milan

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has left out French international midfielder Lassana Diarra from 21 players called up for the clash with AC Milan at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Mourinho named the squad travelling to Milan after Tuesday’s training session, leaving out Lass in a “coaching decision”, although he has recovered from injury, Real Madrid said on their website.

Defender David Mateos has found his way back into the squad list.

Brazilian star Kaka is still out of action after a knee operation, Argentine Ezequiel Garay remains off with a dislocated right knee cap, and Argentine midfielder Fernando Gago is still out with a left knee sprain.

Both Lass and Gago joined Real Madrid’s workout Tuesday morning, the last before the Milan match.

“The Frenchman appears to have made a full recovery, while the Argentine continues making good progress,” Real said.

Both Lass, who had been out with a bout of “inguinal adenopathy”, or inflammation of the lymph nodes of the groin, and Gago trained at full pace, the team said.

Mourinho’s line-up includes Argentine winger Angel di Maria, apparently laying to rest a report that he had been injured.

The sports daily Marca said Tuesday that di Maria had to leave the field and his kneecap was bothering him after he took a blow to the leg in a closed-door training session Monday.