Real Madrid News
Real Madrid youngster receives racist abuse after training incident with national team
While the World Cup may still be a few days away from kicking off, reigning champions France have already suffered their first injury casualty.
Indeed, Christopher Nkunku has been forced out of the World Cup after he picked up an injury during a training session yesterday, following an unfortunate coming-together involving Real Madrid youngster Eduardo Camavinga.
The 20-year-old Camavinga, who is the youngest player in the France squad, went in for a challenge on Nkunku and the RB Leipzig star ended up sustaining an injury that has now ruled him out of the World Cup.
Following the incident, L’Equipe reports that Camavinga has been targeted by fans on social media, with the Real Madrid midfielder receiving several racist messages in the aftermath of the unfortunate incident with Nkunku.
Training injuries are not a new occurrence in the game of football. But Nkunku’s absence will come as a blow to France considering the form that he has been in over the past 15 months.
Real Madrid themselves were planning to keep a close watch on the RB Leipzig ace during the World Cup as a possible attacking reinforcement. However, that will no longer be possible due to the injury, with Randal Kolo Muani replacing him in the France squad.
While the situation may be as it is, targeting a young player like Camavinga and hurling racist abuse at him is unacceptable. The 20-year-old is going to take part in the biggest tournament of his career and these incidents can damage his confidence and morale ahead of the World Cup.
Camavinga was a surprise inclusion in the France squad for the World Cup, materialising due to the injuries to two mainstays in N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba.
The 20-year-old has not played very regularly for Real Madrid this season but has looked good whenever given an opportunity by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Real Madrid are blessed to have the services and loyalty of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The duo have run the show in the Merengues’ midfield for close to a decade and continue to deliver flawless performances to date.
Of the two, however, it is the Croatian who deserves the higher credit. The veteran is now 37 years of age, yet dominates the middle of the park with grace and poise like none other.
Stephen Estuaqio, an FC Porto player and Canada International, spoke earlier this week about why he considered Luka Modric to be a special player and compared him with Kevin de Bruyne to support his stance.
“I played against De Bruyne, but I ran behind Modrić. I couldn’t play against him. It’s crazy how he dictates the game and controls everything. It was a lesson for me,” he said on The 90th minute on Youtube.
With his contract running out next season, Real Madrid are looking to renew his deal by one year come June. Yet, it is difficult to see him continue beyond next season and his imminent departure will mark the end of an era at the club.
Thus, Modric could be an altered role come next season. With a young midfielder, possibly Jude Bellingham set to arrive, the veteran could move into a mentorship role with the occasional appearance in big games.
This season, however, Carlo Ancelotti will continue to use him as one of the backbones of the side and deploy the maestro in the must-win fixtures coming up later this month.
At 37 years of age, Modric has started 16 La Liga games over 24 appearances this season in the competition. He has scored four goals and provided three assists in that process in addition to creating eight big chances with an average of 1.8 key passes per game.
