Real Madrid wait on Casemiro covid-19 test ahead of Inter clash
The Brazilian will take another coronavirus test on Monday after giving an inconclusive result on Friday. With several players absent, Zidane hopes to be able to call on the midfielder for Inter.
The rounds of coronavirus tests that all teams undergo before each game have become a difficult waiting period of tension for players and managers alike. In the last three games, Madrid have suffered the loss of four players due to positive tests. Militao tested positive before the first game against Inter, Casemiro and Hazard before the trip to Mestalla and Jovic after returning from the Serbia national team. The forward still has several days of isolation ahead, Hazard returned against Villarreal, while the two Brazilians had inconclusive results on Friday.
Casemiro and Militao will once again undergo a new test this Monday after the inconclusive results. The test will determine the availability of both for the decisive match that awaits them at the Giuseppe Meazza. Their presence on the plane is important given the number of absentees Zidane currently has. In addition to the aforementioned Jovic, Odriozola, Ramos and Valverde will not be able to face Inter. First choice centre forward Karim Benzema remains a doubt, training alone on Sunday in a bid to recover his fitness.
The return of Casemiro is vital ahead of Madrid's trip to Milan. Before testing positive for covid-19, Casemiro had played every Madrid game this season. The midfield situation without Valverde is already a complicated one. Without Casemiro and the Uruguayan, Zidane had to change things up for Saturday's 1-1 draw against Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica. He moved from a 4-3-3 and opted for a 4-2-3-1, which makes Madrid more fragile in the centre of the pitch.
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Madrid suffer without Casemiro, the cog in the machine. Los Blancos have been unable to win in any of the four games in which the Brazilian hasn't started this season. Zidane rested him against Real Sociedad and Cádiz and Madrid only got one point from the two, at the Reale Arena. In the two matches that he has missed due to coronavirus, Madrid picked up a point, in the draw in Vila-real.
Casemiro has played in the last 13 Champions League games for Real Madrid, in which he has featured in all but 33 minutes. The last two European games he missed were due to the ankle injury he suffered at the end of 2018. He could not play the last two group stage matches that season, in Rome (0-2) and in CSKA Moscow's visit to the Bernabéu (0-3).