REAL MADRID
Real Madrid’s injury issues: Carlo Ancelotti loses more players during international break
Nine of the 23 first-team players are injured and Carlo Ancelotti will have a depleted squad for the match against Cádiz.
The international break has not been kind to Real Madrid. Both Eduardo Camavinga and Vinícius have picked up injuries, with the former out until January. Nine of the 23 players in the first-team players are injured and Carlo Ancelotti will have a depleted squad for the match against Cádiz later this month (Nov. 26).
Up to a dozen Madrid players have been injured this season. Thibaut Courtois ruptured his cruciate the same week as the league started. Faced with this situation, Madrid looked for a substitute and found it in Kepa, who picked up a knock during the warm-up before the match against Braga at the Bernabéu. He could return against Napoli (Nov. 29) or Granada (Dec. 2 ).
Éder Militao is also out long-term with an ACL injury picked up at San Mamés. His centre-back partner David Alaba missed three games due to a right abductor problem. Dani Carvajal missed two games due to a muscle injury and Ferland Mendy started the season with a hamstring injury that left him out until the derby. The Frenchman also missed the game against Rayo Vallecano due to some discomfort.
Midfield issues at Madrid
Ancelotti has been left without two of his pivots: Aurélien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. Tchouameni injured the metatarsal in his left foot in El Clásico and will be out until the end of the year. It will take longer for Camavinga to return, after he suffered a rupture of the external lateral ligament in his right knee and will be out of action until possibly the end of January. Jude Bellingham - the team’s new starman - has also had his issues. The English midfielder is recovering from a dislocation in his shoulder that saw him sidelined for the last two matches.
Arda Güler and Dani Ceballos have been unfortunate, too. Knee issues forced the Turkish talent to undergo surgery and then a tear in his right quad means he still hasn’t made his debut for the club.
Vinícius out again
In attack, Vinícius has been ruled out with two injuries this season. From the end of August, he was out for a month due to a thigh injury and with Brazil, earlier this week, he injured the other thigh. The Brazilian is the latest victim of a team that has had to deal with injuries all season. Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping his luck soon changes.