No one will remember this game for the result, but Real Madrid took care of business last night, beating Benfica 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League Play-off. However, the match result itself was largely overshadowed by the deplorable racist abuse hurled at Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. And that is obviously another story for another time, far beyond the scope of this match preview article. Tuesday night’s win also brought with it a new injury scare, in the form of Aurelien Tchouameni.
The French midfielder ended the latest edition of continental competition with a knock, and was set for further medical assessment.
📌 Hicieron pruebas a Tchouameni esta mañana. No reviste gravedad. Solo molestias. pic.twitter.com/XSUDgzzX1b
— Rubén Martín AS (@RubenMartinAS) February 18, 2026
However, he is totally fine, according to a tweet from reporter Ruben Martin of AS. Translated, this tweet reads: “They ran tests on Tchouameni this morning. It’s not serious. Just discomfort.”
Osasuna vs Real Madrid FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Feb. 21, 5:30pm, El Sadar, Pamplona, Spain
LL Position, Form: Real Madrid 1st, 60 pts, WWWWW Osasuna 10th, 30 pts, WWDWD
Google Result Probability: Real Madrid 57% Draw 23% Osasuna 20%
Real Madrid Team News
In Madrid team news beyond Tchouameni, Rodrygo was suspended for last night’s Champions League win, but he wouldn’t have featured anyway. The forward is dealing with a small hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined all month. So he is a doubt, at minimum, for Saturday.
Also suspended for last night was Raul Asencio, and like Rodrygo, he might have missed out for a health related reason too, given that he’s been battling an unspecified illness.
And then finally, Eder Militao (hamstring) and Jude Bellingham (both hamstring) remain sidelined as long term injury absentees.
Bellingham might return sometime around the March internationals.
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.