Why aren’t Courtois, Carvajal, and Rodrygo playing in today’s El Clásico? Injury timelines and expected returns
Ancelotti is missing four players in his lineup against Barcelona, with David Alaba also out. Brahim is back, although he’ll be on the bench. He’s been out for the last eight matches.
Real Madrid come into the Clásico against Barcelona missing three key players, which has had a noticeable impact on Carlo Ancelotti’s lineup. This week, the manager lost Courtois and Rodrygo, both of whom sustained injuries last Tuesday during the Champions League win against Dortmund. The Belgian and the Brazilian join an injury list that already includes Carvajal, out for the season, and David Alaba, who is nearing the end of his recovery from an ACL tear he suffered in December 2023. On a positive note, Brahim is returning after a six-week absence.
Courtois out for Real Madrid v Barcelona
Courtois is dealing with an adductor injury in his left leg. The Belgian goalkeeper will be sidelined for two to three weeks, meaning he’ll miss Real Madrid’s next four games, including tonight’s key match-up against Barcelona. Courtois will also be unavailable for matches against Valencia, Milan in the Champions League, and Madrid’s away game against Osasuna. This marks the third game Courtois has missed this season, following previous absences against Lille and Villarreal due to another injury. As a result, Lunin will step in as the starter, marking his third appearance of the season. This will also be Lunin’s third consecutive El Clásico, as the Ukrainian keeper played in last season’s Spanish Super Cup final and in the second LaLiga matchup.
Rodrygo injured against Dortmund
Rodrygo was the other casualty of the match against Dortmund. The Brazilian was injured in the play that made it 3-2, when he made a run down the right wing to prevent the ball from going over the byline and give the ball to Lucas Vázquez, who ultimately scored the goal that completed the comeback. Rodrygo has a muscle injury in his right hamstring that will keep him out for 15 to 20 days. So the Brazilian will, in principle, miss the same four games as Courtois and will return after the November FIFA window. Madrid’s first game after that break will be on November 24, at Leganés. Until the injury, Rodrygo had played 13 games this season, 9 of them as a starter, and had three goals and two assists.
Carvajal out for the season
Carvajal will miss the rest of the season. The right-back suffered a triple injury on October 5 in an unfortunate incident in added time of the match against Villarreal. The youth-team player has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn external collateral ligament and a torn popliteal tendon in his right leg. The season is over for Carvajal, who after his injury was automatically renewed by the club until June 2026. A key player for Ancelotti, he says goodbye to the season with 11 games played (10 of them as a starter) and a goal against Espanyol.
Alaba also out for the Clásico
Ancelotti’s fourth absence is David Alaba, who has been carrying a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee since December 2023, in a league match against Villarreal. Ancelotti and his team are expecting the Austrian defender to return at the end of the year, as he has faced some complications in his recovery.
Brahim back for Real Madrid
The new addition to Ancelotti’s squad is the return of Brahim. The player from Malaga returns to the roster six weeks after being injured on 14 September in the match against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena. The Malaga native has missed eight games due to an injury to the long adductor muscle of his right leg. Ancelotti, who yesterday recalled the importance that Brahim’s goals had for the team last season (he scored 12 goals and gave 9 assists), has one of his best weapons available again in the Madrid attack.
This article was written by Mario de la Riva and translated with the help of AI and edited by David Nelson.