Real Madrid injury update: Isco in the squad to face Spurs; Varane, Navas, and Bale out

Real Madrid are in the midst of an injury crisis right now as Raphael Varane, Keylor Navas, and Gareth Bale are all out for tomorrow’s match in London against Tottenham. Here’s a full report on all of Real’s injured players.

Isco

After missing training Monday to undergo tests on a knock to his thigh, Isco is available for Real’s trip to Wembley Stadium Wednesday night.

The lone goalscorer for Los Blancos in their 2-1 loss to Girona played the entire 90 minutes but had a noticeable limp when walking down the tunnel following the match. He assured the media in his postgame interviews that he was fine and expects to play Wednesday.

Until this morning, it appeared that the ‘bandy-legged bandit’ would be yet another casualty from Real’s tough run of matches in October but the in-form attacking midfielder should make the starting XI.

Isco has become even more vital in Real Madrid’s starting lineup with the continued goal drought from Cristiano Ronaldo and the inability from Karim Benzema to finish in front of goal.

Gareth Bale

As expected, Gareth Bale will not return to face his former club on the first day of November after missing the tie in Madrid with a hamstring injury that has hampered the Welsh international for over a month now.

Bale will not make the trip to see his former team as he tries to get his fitness back as quickly as possible.

With no Gareth on the trip, Zinedine Zidane has elected to go with a 19-man roster that features The Big Benz, Ronaldo, Lucas Vasquez, and Borja Mayoral as the only forwards with the team.

More from The Real Champs

• Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
• Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
• Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
• Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool
• PSG want €100 million Real Madrid player to replace Kylian Mbappe

Raphael Varane

This might be the biggest injury blow on the list.

Rafa Varane was not included in the squad for the match at Tottenham due to an abductor muscle issue picked up during the match at Girona. The center back was taken off by Zizou at halftime and underwent tests and individual work at the Real Madrid training facility Monday.

While the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious, it is a smart move by Zidane to hold the young defender out so he can come back 100% as soon as possible.

Without Rafa in the middle alongside Sergio Ramos, expect Nacho to get the nod ahead of Jesus Vallejo with the younger center back remaining on the bench.

Nacho has featured in two of the three Champions League group stage matches thus far, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in both of Real’s wins over APOEL and Borussia Dortmund.

Vallejo, on the other hand, has yet to play in a competitive match with Madrid since coming back from loan in Germany over the summer due to a lingering head injury.

Keylor Navas

Starting goalkeeper Keylor Navas will not make the trip to London either as he is suffering from the same injury Varane picked up over the weekend.

This will be the 5th consecutive match Navas has missed as he hasn’t played since Real Madrid last played Spurs in Madrid on October 17th.

The status of Navas’ injury is unknown, and while he continues to work individually at the Valdebebas training ground, he has not been seen back on the pitch for training sessions.

Therefore, Kiko Casilla will get yet another start between the sticks and just his fourth start ever in the Champions League since he joined Real Madrid (he started one match in the UCL last season and two during the 2015/2016 season).

Navas was crucial in helping Los Blancos secure a draw with the Hotspurs in the reverse fixture, and with Harry Kane expected back in the lineup, Kiko will have a tough task ahead.

Dani Carvajal

It will likely be Achraf Hakimi who stars in the right fullback position tomorrow night with Dani Carvajal still working to get his fitness back after suffering from a heart infection the last month.

The star right-back was cleared to return to working out and training earlier this week and has a long road ahead in his recovery.

Achraf has started in five of the six games Carvajal has missed and played the entire 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham last time out.

While the 19-year-old has impressed fans and critics alike, he is still young and inexperienced, which begs the question: will he be able to hold his own on the road in a tough environment against a very good British team?

Next: Tottenham vs. Real Madrid: Three things to watch in the Champions League

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more match coverage and news!