Real Madrid team news ahead of Eibar: Vinicius, Hazard, Isco
Zinedine Zidane has named his 22-man squad for Real Madrid's visit to Eibar on Sunday, with Vinicius pulling out at the last minute.
Real Madrid have been dealt a major blow ahead of their trip to Eibar as Vinicius will be unavailable for Sunday’s game at the Ipurua Stadium.
The Brazilian winger was a notable absence from Saturday’s training session at Valdebebas, with Zidane revealing in his pre-match press conference that the 20-year-old was suffering some from stomach issues and was unlikely to make the flight to the Basque Country.
“I don't think he can be there. He’s in a bad way, I think it's gastroenteritis. He has no fever, but he’s not comfortable. We will see how it progresses today and we will see for tomorrow,” said the French coach. Soon after, Vinicius’s absence was confirmed when the squad list was announced.
The Rio-born winger has been enjoying a stand-out season so far, participating in all but one of Madrid’s 13 league games (starting eight), with two goals and two assists to his name.
Meanwhile, Zidane welcomes back Martin Odegaard, Luka Jovic and Mariano to the squad after the three players have made respective recoveries from injury. That means that Vinicius, Isco and Eden Hazard are the only three players unavailable to the French coach. Isco will not travel due to an ankle knock picked up in training.
Eden Hazard nearing return for Real Madrid
For his part, Belgian star Hazard has had an awful run of luck with injuries since joining Madrid in 2019. As he continues his recovery from his latest muscle injury set back, hopes are the 28-year-old could be back in the squad soon following his return to training with the group this week. However, Zidane has not risked him for this weekend and said the former Chelsea player will not be rushed back into the fold.
"The important thing is that Eden recovers well. He has had to go through these difficult moments because of injuries this year. It's a shame. Nothing has ever happened to him before the injury he had at Madrid,” said the French coach.
“He always played regularly. Now he has to accept that. What we want is that when he comes back it will be for good. Peace of mind and patience. We need him, we want him in the team, but we also don't want to fool around with him coming back too quickly and something happens.”