Why isn’t Vinicius Jr playing for Real Madrid against Liverpool today in the Champions League?

Kicking someone when they’re down, any noble warrior with even a medieval concept of morals will tell the listening squires, is out of bounds. Your opponent is down, wounded, ready to accept defeat, so a final slice of the sword is too far and should be avoided. It appears though, that when the Football Gods gave life to the beautiful game on day 8, they forgot about this page in their boss’s cosmic rulebook.

Real Madrid travel to Anfield (Wednesday November 27, 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT.) in a seismic clash that could determine their success in the Champions League this year. The Spanish side are squished in at the lower end of mid-table and fly to England’s north west with a host of injuries that have chopped up their squad into little slices fit for a mouse’s salad.

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Militão is out, as is Dani Carvajal. Add to that Rodrygo and Tchouaméni. Stick a couple of academy prospects in their too - the one’s that were set to fill in - while the door’s open to the physio room at Valdebebas. Oh, what the heck, God’s thrown his copy of Einsteinian space laws away, let’s kick them while they’re down. Vinicius Jr is also unavailable for Real Madrid, just for the helluvit.

What injury does Vinicius Jr have?

The Brazilian winger almost got through 90 minutes against Leganés in LaLiga without a scrape, but it appears Ancelotti already knew the alarm bells were whirring. He played the winger down the middle as the physical exertion was lesser on him that way, or so he said. It didn’t work, and he’s now out for around 4 weeks with a hamstring problem that sees him miss a lot of key games in the league and Europe: Getafe (1 Dec), Athletic Club (4 Dec), Girona (7 Dec), Atalanta (UCL, 10 Dec), and Rayo Vallecano (14 Dec).

Real Madrid’s statement was typically terse: Following tests carried out today by the Real Madrid Medical Services on our player Vini Jr., he has been diagnosed with an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg. His progress will be monitored.

The focus, naturally, shifts to Mbappé, whose name features in the first three main headlines of AS’s daily paper in the Spanish capital. “It’s in Mbappé‘s hands", “Anfield needs the best Mbappé" and “Mbappé can ignite the debate" all shout at him to do something the oldies will remember he used to: score goals for Real Madrid.

Normally, that’s his bread and butter, his Coq au vin, but not this season. He did score against Leganés from that typical left-sided position, but he was just offside. The goal served as a glimpse, a reminder, a premonition, perhaps, of what he can do. And right now, it’s what he needs to do.

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The game between Liverpool - Real Madrid will be played on Wednesday November 27 at Anfield, with kick off at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT.

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