One more international break, the managers, coaches and supporters of the big European clubs spent two weeks praying that their players would not get injured. A phenomenon which greatly annoys clubs and which has already generated conflicts between the ogres of European football and their national federations, such as at Barça or PSG, this famous FIFA virus has once again claimed victims during this international window.
And Real Madrid paid the price, since Éder Militão fell in action on Tuesday evening, during the friendly match between Brazil and Tunisia organized in Lille (1-1). The Brazilian central defender had to leave the field in the second half, suffering a muscle injury, details of which were communicated by Real Madrid. He thus suffers from problems with his right adductor.
Xabi Alonso condemned to tinker
If it is not a long injury – he will be out for 2 weeks – it is very bad. First, because he was very good in recent weeks, clearly being the captain of Madrid’s defense. Sportingly, it is therefore a big loss for Xabi Alonso. But above all, the Real Madrid coach already has to deal with a decimated central defense. Also a victim of muscle problems, Dean Huijsen missed the Spain matches and his participation in the weekend’s match against Elche remains unclear. And if he plays, he may not be 100%, having received some criticism recently for his level.
Behind the Brazilian and the Spaniard, the situation is also complicated. If Raul Asencio is operational, Antonio Rüdiger is still in the recovery phase following his injury in mid-September. David Alaba, the team’s fifth central defender, is also absent and did not play with his selection, which qualified for the World Cup on Tuesday evening. One more season, the curse of central defense still falls on Real Madrid, and Xabi Alonso should have a 100% central defender for this weekend. Certainly, the upcoming schedule remains quite lenient, with Elche, Olympiakos and Girona in the next matches, but given the results obtained before the break, there will be no room for error…
