Real Madrid have certainly had better international breaks than the one which is currently concluded. Central defender Eder Militao joins the likes of Dean Huijsen, Kylian Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga as players to encounter injury issues this FIFA window.
Compound this with the likes of the standing injury issues, Franco Mastantuono, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Carvajal and Antonio Rudiger, and there could be some selection issues here for Xabi Alonso.
Real Madrid at Elche FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, November 23, Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain
Real Madrid Preview Material: Injury Updates 1 Injury Updates 2 Starting XI Prediction Team News
La Liga Form: Real Madrid WWWWD 31 pts Elche WWLDW
La Liga Standing: Real Madrid 1st, 27 pts Elche 11th, 15 pts
Result Probability: Real Madrid win 71% Draw 17% Elche win 12%
First off, the good news, Mbappe and Camavinga are thought to be fine, and their early returns from France duty are reported to just be cautionary. Both have already trained with Madrid since being back. Militao, who left Brazil’s friendly with Tunisia early, and while in obvious pain, is a concern. Reports are that he’ll missing a couple weeks, at least, with an adductor injury. And this is a very inopportune time for that, as his position group is ravaged by injury already, with Carvajal and Rudiger already out.
As for Huijsen, he came back from Spain duty early, due to a groin injury that happened during a training session. He’s fine though! He’s already returned to training with Los Blancos.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.