Madrid (AP): Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane practiced on Monday and is expected to be available for Tuesday's quarterfinal against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Kane missed Bayern's win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday because of a minor ankle issue sustained in training with England last week.

He took part in the team's training session in Munich before the squad traveled to the Spanish capital for Tuesday's match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

“He is a goal scorer. He is a great player,” Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior said Monday about Kane. “But Bayern is a great team and has many players who switch positions and make it difficult for us. Whoever plays, it will be tough. We will need to be well prepared.”

Madrid and Bayern are meeting in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the sixth time in the past 14 seasons, with 15-time champion Madrid having won four of five two-legged matchups with Bayern since the 2011-12 season: once in the quarterfinals and three times in the semifinals, most recently in 2024. Bayern won in the semifinals in 2012 after a penalty shootout.

“Bayern is an unbelievable team, we've seen what it can do this season,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They're having an exceptional season. I think Bayern has been the most consistent side in Europe this season. They're fearless, aggressive, very focused defensively, with an unbelievable striker in Harry Kane.”

Bayern is unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, with 11 wins, while Madrid is coming off a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its Spanish league title hopes.

“We don't think about not winning the tie and there is only one possible scenario, which is to beat Bayern and get through the tie,” Arbeloa said. “It's the only thing we want and the only thing we believe in. All our energy is in the game against Bayern.”

Arbeloa also downplayed criticism of Kylian Mbappé, who has been questioned by some in Madrid recently. Mbappé is coming off a controversial knee injury that reduced his playing time with the Spanish club.

“Mbappé knows perfectly well what Real Madrid is,” Arbeloa said. “I have no doubt about that. He's someone who has dreamed of being a Real Madrid player. We've all seen images of Kylian Mbappé wearing the Real Madrid jersey, dreaming of becoming a Real Madrid player. What he has done to come here wasn't easy.”

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Gumla (PTI): Three persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly raping two women at a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, police said.

All the three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, Gumla Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge, Mahendra Karmali, told PTI.

According to police, one of the women had been called to Gumla Sadar by her boyfriend on Sunday for an outing.

“She arrived at the spot accompanied by a female. The woman’s boyfriend then called a friend, and they took the two women to a secluded place in Sisai police station area in the evening, forcibly made them consume alcohol before raping them,” the officer said.

The accused later called another man to the spot, who also allegedly raped the women, he said.

“The women later reached the Sadar Police Station and lodged a complaint on Sunday night. Police conducted raids and nabbed the three accused on Monday,” he added.

Further investigation is underway.