Real Madrid News
Nine absentees leave Real Madrid in serious trouble before Elche match
Real Madrid may have secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, but the celebrations have quickly been replaced by concern.
The team must now shift its focus back to La Liga, where Elche awaits in the next fixture.
However, preparations for that match have been complicated by a growing injury crisis that has left the squad extremely thin.
As such, Alvaro Arbeloa is currently dealing with a difficult situation, as he only has 15 players available for the match, and two of those players are goalkeepers.
List of absentees
The biggest concern comes from the number of players currently sidelined through injury.
Among the injured players are Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos, Kylian Mbappe, David Alaba and Alvaro Carreras.
The latest player to join the injury list is Ferland Mendy, who suffered a physical problem during the Champions League clash against Manchester City.
On top of the injured players, the team must also cope without Franco Mastantuono. The Argentine is serving the second game of a suspension after being sent off during the recent match against Getafe.
Stretching the capacity
Although the situation is already difficult, there are additional concerns regarding the physical condition of several players who are still available.
Defenders Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio and Dean Huijsen have all been dealing with minor physical issues in recent weeks, even though they are currently expected to be fit enough to play.
Meanwhile, some of the team’s most important attacking and midfield players have been heavily used throughout the season.
Players such as Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr., Aurelien Tchouameni and Arda Guler have played a significant number of matches recently.
Ideally, the coaching staff would like to rotate some of these players to keep them fresh ahead of the second leg against Manchester City, but the lack of available squad depth makes that extremely difficult.
Bernardo Silva was one of Real Madrid’s headline signings last summer. The Portuguese midfielder arrived on a free transfer from Manchester City and appeared destined to become the creative successor to Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the middle of the park.
Indeed, with the club having not signed a new central midfielder, many within Real Madrid saw the veteran star as a solution to the issue.
Manager Jose Mourinho made him a starter from the very beginning in pre-season, but not in his usual role on the right. Instead, he deployed his compatriot as a deep-lying playmaker in the midfield double pivot.
A change in circumstances
Silva failed to have the expected influence when operating in a deeper role in midfield in the chances he got.
Combined with the emergence of Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni’s return to fitness, the Portuguese international has now lost his place in the starting line-up and dropped to the bench.
Bernardo’s situation became particularly striking against Villarreal this past Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, when he did not play a single minute.
Limited opportunities under Mourinho
Bernardo has played six matches for Real Madrid, starting three and coming on as a substitute in another three.
He did not feature against Villarreal or Elche, while his only appearance in the last three matches was a little over 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid. He was not used regularly by the Portugal national team during the international break either.
Across Real Madrid’s eight La Liga fixtures, Silva has accumulated just 282 minutes of playing time.
The Champions League now presents another opportunity for the former Manchester City captain, who has yet to make his European debut for Real Madrid this season.
He missed the match against Inter Milan because he was still serving a suspension carried over from his time at the Etihad Stadium last season.
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will give him an opportunity against AS Roma in the coming week.
For now, the midfielder’s reduced playing time suggests that the Portuguese coach has lost some of his faith in a player who arrived with high expectations after leaving Manchester City.
