REAL MADRID
Casemiro at risk of injury with 97% of minutes played this year
Zidane continues to squeeze every last drop out of Casemiro with no true replacement in the squad for the Brazilian, who could be on the brink of exhaustion.
"Once you start to play, you will never stop," is what Zidane said to Casemiro when he first arrived as the manage of Real Madrid. The Brazilian was concerned about his lack of minutes but Zidane assured him that his time would come. He wasn't lying.
Casemiro continues to play with nobody to replace him in the team. He has played in 960 minutes this season with his only chance to rest coming against Levante when he was withdrawn with 60 minutes played. That is 97% of minutes and with two games for Brazil during the international break, the holding midfielder might not be able to hold out much longer as fatigue sets in.
Share of minutes this season for Real Madrid
| Player | Min. | Percentage |
| Casemiro | 960 | 97,0% |
| Benzema | 881 | 89,0% |
| Ramos | 870 | 87,9% |
| Kroos | 836 | 84,4% |
| Varane | 810 | 81,8% |
| Courtois | 765 | 77,3% |
| Carvajal | 720 | 72,7% |
| Bale | 596 | 60,2% |
| Hazard | 425 | 42,9% |
| James | 411 | 41,5% |
| Marcelo | 405 | 40,9% |
| Vinicius | 394 | 39,8% |
| Lucas V. | 364 | 36,8% |
| Odriozola | 344 | 34,7% |
| Militao | 300 | 30,3% |
| Valverde | 286 | 28,9% |
| Jovic | 284 | 28,7% |
| Mendy | 270 | 27,3% |
| Modric | 246 | 24,8% |
| Nacho | 225 | 22,7% |
| Areola | 225 | 22,7% |
| Isco | 170 | 17,2% |
| Rodrygo | 43 | 4,3% |
| Brahim | 9 | 0,9% |
| Mariano | 0 | 0,0% |
Total minutes possible: 990.
Source: Opta.
During the international break before the most recent one, he travelled 20,000 kilometres to play against Peru and Colombia in two friendles. In the last international break, he travelled 23,000 kilometres to play in Singapore against Senegal and Nigeria.
Players most used by Real Madrid in recent years
| Season. | Games played | Min. | Manager | Player | Minutes player | % |
| 19-20 | 11 | 990 | Zidane | Casemiro | 960 | 97,0% |
| 18-191 | 12 | 1.110 | Lopetegui | Ramos | 1.020 | 91,9% |
| 17-18 | 13 | 1.170 | Zidane | Ramos | 1.079 | 92,2% |
| 16-172 | 11 | 1.020 | Zidane | Carvajal | 885 | 86,8% |
| 15-16 | 10 | 900 | Benítez | CR y Keylor | 900 | 100,0% |
In the last four years only two players have played a higher percentage of games by the time the third Champions League game came around. It was under Rafa Benítez in 2015-16 when Keylor Navas and Cristiano Ronaldo both participated in all of the 900 minutes that Real Madrid played. Sergio Ramos was the most used played by Zidane before Casemiro's feat this season. Ramos played 1,079 of the 1,170 possible back in 2017-18. No other player has reached 90% under Zidane.
After Casemiro, the most used by Zidane are: Benzema (881 minutes, 89%), Ramos (870', 87,9%), Kroos (836', 84,4%) and Varane (810', 81,8%).