Fede Valverde, despite arriving late, is set to play for Real Madrid against Cádiz in LaLiga

Fede Valverde is the latest name on the list of Real Madrid players who are joining the race to be fit for the game against Cádiz (Sunday 26 November 2023, kick-off at 12.30 p.m. ET / 9.30 a.m. PT.), where Ancelotti will be forced into rotating the team.

The November national team break has been a huge headache for many teams and especially Real Madrid. Los Blancos are set to lose Vinicius for more than two months and Camavinga will not return to the team until some time in 2024.

Both were injured on national team duty and Ancelotti has lost two of his key players in an already depleted squad, at least for the next two months, where the side’s season is at stake in LaLiga and the Copa del Rey, not to mention the fact that they will play the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia next January.

Valverde played 180 minutes with Uruguay

A bad week in the Spanish capital for the two players, then, who join the already injured Courtois, Kepa, Militão and Arda Güler. As for Ceballos and Bellingham, they are both in a race to be ready for Sunday’s match against Cádiz.

The injuries to the players go hand in hand with the fatigue of the squad. Valverde, one of the few fit midfielders at Madrid along with Modric and Kroos, will arrive in the city today after playing 180 minutes for Uruguay in the games against Argentina and Bolivia.

Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa did not give Valverde any chance to rest in the games, well aware that he is essential for the team, just as he is at Madrid for Carlo Ancelotti. With the number of absentees that the Italian coach has in midfield, Valverde will be a sure bet to play on Sunday, despite the risk of overloading the Uruguayan, who plays in practically every game.

Which player has played the most minutes for Real Madrid so far this season?

This season, Valverde is the second most used player by Ancelotti, having racked up 1,312 minutes so far. Only Rüdiger has played more than the midfielder, on 1,390. Over the three international breaks this season, the midfielder has played absolutely everything with his national team. After the first two international breaks, Valverde started for Ancelotti, but was unable to finish the matches due to the fatigue.

The Italian coach has only left the Uruguayan on the bench twice this season: against Getafe in LaLiga and against Union Berlin in the Champions League. In both cases he ended up coming on in the second half, meaning he has seen minutes in every game that Madrid have played so far this season.

Ancelotti cannot contemplate resting him against Cádiz, and the player will start alongside Kroos and Modric given the sheer number of absentees. On the bench, to replace him, will be the recently recovered Ceballos and the youth team prospect, Nico Paz.

Will Modric and Kroos start against Cádiz?

Valverde will only have two training sessions ahead of the game, during which he will look to recover his match fitness and hope that he does not get injured. During last season, Valverde played in every game before the World Cup and ended up paying for it at the end of the season, where he was not at his best physically.

Another player who will feature against Cádiz has also been squeezed by his national team: Luka Modric. The Croatian was only rested five minutes in the first match against Latvia, but played the whole game last Tuesday against Armenia.

Modric is seeing less minutes this season, but now he will face a marathon of games in which he will play almost all the minutes: how he responds at 38-years-old, we will have to wait and see. The only fit and firing midfielder in Madrid’s midfield is Kroos, who after retiring from his national team, is a starter after every break.