Martin Odegaard will not become the youngest ever Champions League player, with Carlo Ancelotti confirming the 16-year-old would not be in Real Madrid's squad for Tuesday's round-of-16 second leg against Schalke.
Real in January beat off competition from many of Europe's elite clubs to sign the 16-year-old in a deal which could reportedly be worth eight million euros.
The Norway international previously set a new age record for the Norwegian league and for UEFA senior international competition, and since moving to Madrid has been training with the first team while playing for the club's Castilla reserve side in the third tier of Spanish football.
He was also included in the senior squad for the Champions League knockout rounds, opening up the possibility that he could replace former Nigeria international Celestine Babayaro as the competition's youngest ever player.
Given Odegaard turned 16 on Dec. 17, his last chance to break the record set by Babayaro when playing for Belgian club Anderlecht in 1994 is to play in Tuesday's game against Schalke.
However, Ancelotti told his pregame news conference that the starlet was not yet ready to feature on this stage.
"[Odegaard] will not play against Schalke," the Italian coach said. "He is doing well and sticking to his program. I don't know how close he is to playing, but he is a player with a lot of talent."
That was then confirmed by the announcement of Madrid's 21-man squad for the game, but did see the return of Croatia international Luka Modric after four months sidelined with a hamstring tear.
The holders go into Tuesday's game under a cloud after poor recent domestic results, but are expected to progress given how they outclassed Schalke 2-0 in last month's first leg.
Blancos midfielder Toni Kroos told his club's official website that although going through to the last eight was the primary objective, he expected the home fans to have goals to celebrate on the night.
"Our first objective is to get through to the quarterfinals," Kroos said. "We want another good performance against Schalke, this time in front of our fans and with our passage to the next stage to play for.
"We'll see what the final scoreline reads, but that is secondary. We'll have chances and I believe we'll score, especially as we're playing at home."
Kroos said he expected Schalke to defend in numbers at the Bernabeu, but knows that Roberto Di Matteo's side will have to attack at some point if they want to spring a surprise.
"Schalke will be giving it their all, they'll be looking to make a fresh start in the clashes against us," he said. "We are expecting a highly motivated rival who will be difficult to beat.
"They won't be straying too far from the tactics they employed in the first leg. They'll be looking to position themselves well defensively and then as the minutes tick by, they'll have to push a bit forward as they have to come back from behind."
The Germany international said reaching this year's Champions League final, which is being played at Berlin's Olympiastadion, would be something special for him personally.
"It would be extra special given that it's in Germany," he added. "However, where the final is played is secondary to me. The important thing is getting that far. At a club like Real Madrid the goal is always to win everything and that is the short-term aim this season."