Madrid, May 29 (IANS): Thibaut Courtois' chances of playing in goal for Real Madrid in Saturday's Champions League 2023-24 final against Borussia Dortmund look to be increasing with the news that Andriy Lunin missed Wednesday's training session with flu.

Lunin has now missed two days without being able to train with the rest of the squad and he didn't play a minute in the last La Liga match of the season against Real Betis on Saturday, while Courtois played over an hour.

Although the Spanish press report that Lunin is recovering well, the club preferred for him to miss Wednesday's session to avoid the risk of infecting any of his companions, reports Xinhua.

Lunin was the first choice for Real Madrid for the majority of the season after Courtois tore his cruciate knee ligament in a pre-season training session, and his performances had led many to believe that he would get the nod from Carlo Ancelotti in the Champions League final.

However, Courtois' performances in the four appearances he has made since completing his recovery show that he has quickly returned to his best form, and the Belgian is now the favourite to play in the final with Lunin on the substitutes' bench.