Real Madrid has tackled many injuries lately, but with defender Antonio Rudiger has to be immersed on Saturday in the 15th minute of their game opposite Espanyol, manager Carlo Ancelotti will sweat. They also result. The German defender seemed to suffer a hamstring injury while defending a cross before he was withdrawn from the match where he was replaced by the young defender Raul Ascencio. Los Blancos would lose the match 1-0 behind a goal by Carlos Romero in the 85th minute that dropped their first game after winning five consecutive games in all competitions. He came across a team that has been a relegation.
With the loss, Real Madrid sees their lead in La Liga to just one point about Atletico Madrid and Rudiger’s injuries status will loom in the coming weeks.
Already started with Aurelien Tchouameni in the middle of the back because Eder Militao is absent with its own ACL injury, this could place the defensive korp of Madrid in a fairly tight place with large matches on the horizon. There is not only a top-of-the-table collision in the Madrid Derby with Atletico Madrid on 8 February, but soon one after the other goes Los Blancos to Manchester for the first stage of the Champions League Knock-Out Play-Offs against Manchester City Against Manchester City against Manchester City.
“He has had a muscle injury. Now they will have to assess it,” said Ancelotti after the game.
Asked if the club could view the market for reinforcements before Monday’s deadline, Ancelotti said: “Signings? I can’t answer you. We talked about it, we have thought about it and we know what we have to do” .
Real Madrid expects to win the Champions League every year, not only to reach the round of 16, but if Rudiger is not ready for the first stage on 11 February, they will have trouble following Erling Haaland and dealing with a victory . When Rudiger went down, while the Real Madrid attack still created the opportunities to see a goal from Vinicius Junior excluded by VAR due to an error, the defense struggled.
Romero’s goal came from a fast situation in which Rudiger would be well placed to prevent the attacker from getting the ball. Real Madrid won the XG Battle 1.81 to 0.31, but that did not shook what it mattered in the final score.
Rudiger’s physicality and control of the dark arts to get into the head of his opponents, is something unparalleled by other defenders in the world, so he has become a pillar in the defense of Real Madrid. Of course there is always the chance that his withdrawal from the Espanyol match is only a precautionary measure to ensure that he is healthy for a busy February, but missing every moment would be a concern.