Real Madrid lost two first team stars to what appear to be serious injuries over a seven-minute … [+] period in the first half of its La Liga clash with Osasuna on Saturday.
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Real Madrid lost two first team stars to what appear to be serious injuries, over a frantic seven-minute period in the first half of its La Liga clash with Osasuna on Saturday.
The defending champions went into a home fixture at the Bernabeu already crestfallen thanks to back-to-back defeats in the same ground.
Thrashed by bitter rivals FC Barcelona 4-0 in El Clasico, Carlo Ancelotti’s men lost 3-1 to his former club AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday to usher in talks of a crisis in the white half of the Spanish capital.
Ancelotti made three changes to the side involved in the latter hiccup, with Rodrygo being granted a start and chance to impress in attack.
With just 20 minutes down on the clock, however, the Brazilian threw himself to the ground touching his left leg.
He managed to walk off the pitch without needing help, but was emotional on the bench while being consoled by teammates as Brahim Diaz replaced him.
Seven minutes later, worse was in store for defender Eder Militao, who had to be stretchered off in tears.
His replacement Raul Asencio provided an assist for Jude Bellingham as Madrid went 2-0 up after Vinicius Jr.’s opener, and went down the tunnel at the interval with such a lead.
But the injuries are particularly worrying for Madrid at a time when the first team is short-staffed.
The extent of the knocks will probably be confirmed on Sunday afternoon once the club’s medical services have carried out tests on the players in question.
Yet if Militao is out for a considerable amount of time, Ancelotti is left with just one senior natural center back in Toni Rudiger as David Alaba is still yet to return.
Aurelien Tchouameni, who often stepped in on the back line with Rudiger when Alaba and Militao both fell to ACL knocks last season, is similarly out injured for at least a month, and all this might force Madrid to head to the transfer market in January.
On the front line, Brahim and Arda Guler, or even Endrick, might now be afforded opportunities that have been scarce as of late in the cases of the latter mentioned teenagers.
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