Last night was pretty awful for Real Madrid, who both suffered a 2-0 home loss to Celta Vigo and saw their talisman, Kylian Mbappe, get injured. The Frenchman took an awkward fall during the first half of the defeat, sustaining a fracture to his left ring finger in the process.
There is good news though- he’ll be okay to face Manchester City on Wednesday night. Even before the Mbappe development, Madrid had plenty of injury issues.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 FYIs
Real Madrid vs Man City
Kickoff: Wed. Dec. 10, 8pm, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Preview Material for Both Sides: Starting XI Predictions Team News
UCL Standing, Form: Manchester City 9th, 10 pts WDWWL Real Madrid 5th, 12 pts WWWLW
Man City vs Real Madrid Team News
Xabi Alonso and his men will be without the services of Eder Militao (hamstring), Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh) and Dani Carvajal. Elsewhere Ferland Mendy is also a strong doubt while Dean Huijsen and David Alaba will need to pass late fitness tests in order to make the matchday squad.
Shifting gears to Manchester City, for the longest time, the only injury concerns they had were Rodri and Mateo Kovacic. Now they have a new problem, in the form of English defender John Stones.
“He was injured, yes,” City manager Pep Guardiola said, regarding Stones’ absence in the win over Sunderland. “To be honest, I don’t know [how long he will be sidelined].”
The nature of the issue was not disclosed. As for Rodri, the goalposts got moved back, far back, once again. After weeks of his supposedly being close to returning/touch-and-go, he’s now actually going to be sidelined for awhile.
Said Guardiola at his weekly press conference on Friday: “I don’t know how long, but he is at the stage where, in a few weeks, he will be ready.”
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, RG.org and Ratings.org. 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 and the Washington Post.