Jose Mourinho brutally omits senior player from Real Madrid's Champions League squad

Jose Mourinho has left out of senior member of his Real Madrid squad for the first phase of the club's Champions League campaign.

All 36 sides competing in the league phase of the competition have submitted their squads ahead of the first fixtures next week.

There have been plenty of surprises across the board and Mourinho has made a big call in his return to 15-time European champions Real.

And it's bad news for left-back Ferland Mendy, who has been left out of the squad as he recovers from an injury.

The Lyon defender suffered a muscular injury in his right leg back in May and is yet to return to action for Los Blancos.

Unfortunately, the timing has resulted in Mendy being omitted from Real's list. Teammates Eder Militao and Rodrygo Goes are both currently injured but have been included by Mourinho and can feature when they return to fitness.

Instead of Mendy, 19-year-old midfielder Sergio Martinez has made the cut just days after joining from Racing Santander - with whom he recently made his La Liga debut.

Martinez signed for the club's Castilla side after Real activated his €3 million release clause but he could now make his Champions League bow.

A total of 11 youth players have been included by Mourinho, the majority of which feature on List B because of their age.

Mendy's absence is not seen as a major problem as new signing Marc Cucurella and Alvaro Carreras are the two main options to play at left-back.

Martinez, meanwhile, could be fast-tracked into the Real first-team because of a lack of options for the upcoming first Champions League game against Inter Milan.

Real host the Italian giants at the Bernabeu on 8 September but will be without a slew of key players.

New signing Bernardo Silva is suspended, along with Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga.

Silva's ban comes after he was sent off for a deliberate handball on the line against Real when captaining Manchester City in the round of 16 last season.

With Aurelien Tchouameni also likely to be unavailable after being absent with a muscle problem, coupled with Thiago Pitarch being a doubt - it could give Martinez the opportunity of a lifetime.

Martinez was set to be with Real's second string but he has been involved in first-team training and has impressed both Mourinho and his colleagues.