Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder called up for international duty despite injury scare against Valencia
Real Madrid had a memorable outing at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night as they humbled Valencia 5-1 with goals coming from Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo.
While the match was indeed flawless, Madrid were dealt with an injury scare as a certain Federico Valverde suffered a clash with Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili before being subbed off at the hour’s mark, with Luka Modric coming on the field.
Valverde called up for international duty
For Valverde, the initial medical assessments have dismissed the possibility of a significant injury that might have hindered his ability to travel to Uruguay for international duty, reports SPORT.
Following Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to include Valverde in the Uruguay squad, the player is now set to join his national team for the upcoming two World Cup qualifying matches.
It’s worth mentioning that Uruguay are currently second in their Confederation group and are scheduled to face Argentina, the group leader, on November 17.
The second match is slated for November 22 in Uruguay against Bolivia, who are positioned at the bottom of the group.
What really happened to Valverde?
Valverde sustained a blow to his lower back and managed to hold on as long as he could. The discomfort visibly impeded his normal running, evident in a noticeable limp.
At present, Madrid are cautiously optimistic, awaiting further medical assessments with the hope that the injury won’t escalate.
On the other hand, it is important to note that the extent of his playing time hinges on the alleviation of discomfort, raising concerns for Madrid if Valverde pushes himself unnecessarily.
It is no secret that Valverde is an asset for Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti. It could be understood by the fact that last week, he inked a contract extension with Real Madrid, binding him until 2029.
This not only brings financial benefits but also includes a protective €1 billion release clause.
Real Madrid’s main goal heading into the summer transfer window was to wrap up the signing of Jude Bellingham amid massive interest from Premier League giants such as Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s City, especially, were ready to match and increase any salary Madrid offered, and were going strongly into the bidding war.
Eventually, Bellingham decided to join Madrid after they reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for €3 million.
However, following this, los blancos had to improvise a fair bit as Karim Benzema decided to leave the club to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer. They were expecting him to continue for another season, at least, and it stumped their plans in the market.
In the next few weeks, Madrid chased forwards, and ended up signing Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and a certain Arda Guler, who was close to Barcelona before eventually ending up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Unfortunately for Madrid, he is yet to play a single minute for the club after picking up a serious injury in pre-season. Despite being on the bench for a couple of games, Guler suffered a relapse in training, and was sidelined again.
Now, reports from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu say that the Turkish international is close to returning to team training.
Guler has slowly, but surely, been recovering from his injury, and could take to the pitch for his first minutes with the club in the next few weeks as Madrid look for solutions after a month full of injuries.
With Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, and Thibaut Courtois all out until early 2024, Madrid have relied on Castilla for reinforcements, but could do with Guler’s services in their forward line.
That said, Carlo Ancelotti and co. are expected to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Turkish international. The slightest spell of poor man-management here could make or break the youngster’s career.
