Real Madrid News
Breaking: Brahim Diaz to face close to three months on the sidelines, could miss up to 19 games
Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Sociedad gave the team three vital points amidst their sub-par start to the new season.
If the midfield crisis ahead of kickoff was not enough, however, the men in white had salt rubbed on their wounds when Brahim Diaz came off the field injured just around the 20-minute mark.
Tests conducted on the youngster have revealed an injury to the long abductor muscle of his right leg and the prognosis does not look good for the youngster.
Out for the long-term
As relayed in a recent update by Fabrizio Romano, Diaz will be out for at least eight weeks after his latest blow.
He is expected to be sidelined until November, but with two international breaks, the team could decide to take no risks and delay his return.
The Italian journalist furthers that the player will undergo tests once more after a week to ascertain the approximate period out.
While his minimum period out is eight weeks, The Athletic report that he could face up to three months on the sidelines.
If the Spanish-Moroccan star is indeed out for three months, he will return only for the new year in what comes as a big blow for Carlo Ancelotti’s plans. In such a case, he could miss up to 19 games for the men in white.
He will be unavailable for critical UCL clashes against Stuttgart, Lille, AC Milan, Dortmund and Liverpool and will even miss big league games against Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Barcelona and Girona amongst other oppositions.
Carlo Ancelotti and Co. will hope that his prognosis is better than it appears, for the youngster has been in great form this season. His absence, needless to say, leaves Ancelotti with few options on the right wing.
Real Madrid opted to renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract this past summer to keep him at the club for one more season.
The 33-year-old veteran defender, though, has not been performing at his best, with physical problems taking their toll and age starting to catch up with him.
As such, the expectation is that Los Blancos will not extend his contract again when his current one expires on 30 June 2027.
Tottenham eye Antonio Rudiger
And, according to reports relayed by AS, Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a free-transfer swoop to sign Rudiger in the summer of next year.
The north London club are understood to be keen on reinforcing their backline next year and see the German defender as an option, given his experience in the Premier League and the fact that he would be available for free in the summer.
So far this season, Rudiger has played only five games for Real Madrid, amounting to a total of 396 minutes.
The 33-year-old has even chipped in with two goals, including the all-important winner in the 4-3 comeback victory over AS Roma on Wednesday night.
Time to move on?
Despite Rudiger being a hugely respected figure in the Real Madrid locker room, he is currently the third-choice centre-back for Jose Mourinho.
After all, summer signing Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen have been preferred by the manager so far in the new season.
Moreover, with Eder Militao set to return imminently after a lengthy injury layoff, Rudiger’s game-time could be impacted further.
Given the situation and factoring in Real Madrid’s plans to sign another centre-back next summer, it is pretty much evident that Rudiger does not feature in the club’s plans for beyond this season.
As such, a separation of ways seems pretty likely when his contract expires, and Tottenham are now positioning themselves as early suitors to sign Rudiger as a free agent in 2027.
