Real Madrid’s Joselu injured: what is the injury and how long is he out for?

Joselu is injured. The devastating news has finally been confirmed, after several days of suspicion at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground: since the beginning of the week he had not trained normally.

Initially it looked like the player had suffered from a sprain, with Joselu feeling a bad pain in his right ankle; he has since undergone tests and the results have been confirmed: he is suffering from a bone oedema (swelling caused by a build-up of fluid).

Joselu is third in the list of players in the squad who have played the most games this season (35 out of 36, he was only absent against Braga due to a last minute issue). Ahead of him sit just Valverde and Rodrygo, the only two players to have played in all 36 matches. Although Joselu’s appearances were often from the bench, he has been a permanent fixture in Carlo’s thinking and has always ended up getting minutes.

Real Madrid release statement

In a statement, Real Madrid announced that “following tests carried out on Joselu by the Real Madrid Medical Services, the player has been diagnosed with a bone oedema in his right ankle. His progress will be monitored.”

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How long will Joselu take to recover?

Club sources suggest that he will be out for about three weeks.

Joselu will not play against Sevilla and he will not be at Mestalla to face Valencia either. He will not participate in the second leg against Leipzig and, almost certainly, will not play against Celta. His most likely return is against Osasuna, the last match before the March international break (in which a Spain-Brazil friendly will be played at the Bernabéu).

In another order of things, the feelings regarding Antonio Rüdiger are very positive: yesterday he trained with the group and this morning he has done the same again, clearing up any doubt about his fragility. He will be present in the squad to face Sevilla. Ancelotti’s absentees are the three long-term players (Courtois, Militão and Alaba), Carvajal (suspended), Camavinga (suspended for a fifth yellow card), Bellingham (finishing his recovery from a sprained ankle) and Joselu, the last name to fall.

Real Madrid’s game against Sevilla in LaLiga just got a lot trickier given the injury to the former Espanyol forward, who joins the aforementioned long list of players in the physio room. Sevilla, despite their low position in the table, will present an interesting challenge for Real Madrid, who will welcome back former centre-back Sergio Ramos to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for the first time since his departure.

Sergio Ramos left Real Madrid in 2021 after playing 469 games and scoring 72 goals for the side. He won the Champions League 4 times in the white shirt, including 3 of those as Real Madrid’s captain in their unprecedented ‘threepeat’. He won 5 LaLiga titles and 2 Copas del Rey.