Dani Ceballos ankle injury: how long will the Real Madrid player be out for and what games will he miss?

More injury woes for Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid. Dani Ceballos joins an ever-growing casualty list which currently includes Jude Bellingham, Ferland Mendy and Eduardo Camavinga with centre-backs Jesús Vallejo and David Alaba also unavailable.

Ceballos was in the starting XI for Sunday’s home game against Betis but quit the field on 65 minutes. Tests conducted this morning revealed a Grade III sprain to the player’s right ankle - as the club confirmed in a medical report: “Following the tests carried out today on our player Dani Ceballos by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a grade III sprain affecting the ligaments in his right ankle. Pending evolution.”

Ceballos to miss the Madrid derby

While Madrid’s medical services offered no clues as to when Ceballos could return, it is estimated that he will be out for between six weeks to two months. That means that Ancelotti will be unable to call on the midfielder for the first two matchdays of the new Champions League, in which Madrid face Stuttgart (17 September) and Lille (2 October).

In LaLiga, Ceballos will miss the games against Real Sociedad (A), Espanyol (H), Alavés, Atlético and Villarreal.

So far this season, the 28-year-old has made three appearances, coming on as a sub in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta and the league game against Valladolid, and starting against Betis. A total of 71 minutes, which hasn’t given him time to get his stats into gear.