Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid confirm injuries to key duo, could be out for three weeks
Real Madrid have issued two official statements confirming that defender David Alaba and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni have picked up injuries to their right and left soleus muscle, respectively.
Los Blancos succumbed to their second La Liga defeat of this season last weekend when they were beaten 2-1 by Villarreal. It came as a setback in the defence of their title as Barcelona have opened up a three-point lead by defeating Atletico Madrid.
On the back of that setback, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have now been handed a double blow by the injuries to two key players in the form of Alaba and Tchouameni.
“After the tests carried out today on our player David Alaba by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a right soleus injury. Evolution pending,” the statement on Alaba read.
As for the update on Tchouameni’s condition, the statement read: “After the tests carried out on our player Aurélien Tchouameni by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a left soleus injury. Evolution pending.”
This development comes just before Real Madrid’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash against Valencia.
Reports suggest that Alaba picked up the knock during the match against Villarreal while Tchouameni injured himself in training earlier today.
While the club have not provided an exact timeline of recovery, Journalist Arancha Rodriguez (via RM4Arab) has claimed that the duo will be out of action for three weeks.
It means that they will miss the Spanish Super Cup matches this week as well as the Copa del Rey Round-of-16 tie against Villarreal and possibly the La Liga ties against Athletic Club and Real Sociedad.
According to reports from Mario Cortegana (h/t Madrid Zone), Real Madrid have two objectives for the upcoming summer transfer window. The centre-forward and the right-wing position are seen as the two positions to be reinforced but no decision has been made yet about making a move.
This comes over and above the Merengues’ pre-existing need for new midfielders and full-backs in the coming windows.
At first sight, it may appear that Los Blancos are well stacked in the final third. In Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo Goes, they have three starting quality players who are well-complemented by the likes of Marco Asensio and Federico Valverde.
Yet, Vinicius is the only player on the aforementioned list who can boast of a starting role in a fixed position for at least the next decade.
There is worry over the centre-forward role considering Benzema’s lack of form and fitness throughout the current campaign. With the Ballon d’Or winner already 35, the club need a young reinforcement soon which is evident with the team’s struggle for goals this term.
Los Blancos have already invested heavily in Endrick in this regard. However, that has not stopped them from following established options like Dusan Vlahovic and Erling Haaland as their Brazilian wonderkid will not arrive until 2024.
The right wing is also understaffed despite the presence of young Rodrygo and Fede Valverde. The duo have no dearth of talent but have not managed to click on the wing as well as the manager would have liked.
Thus, it remains to be seen as to who the club targets to strengthen the wing and aim to stretch the play. Given the heavy investment planned for Jude Bellingham, a low-cost option is likely to be considered.
