The international break is a time where clubs see their players off to their home countries while hoping they enjoy good form and good results. This doesn’t seem to be the case for Real Madrid as they get their players returning in a rather beat up or tired fashion.
Fans of the beautiful game have been saying for years how much they hate the international break, everyone finally gets used to the weekly games from their favorite teams and then all of a sudden, it’s yanked away.
Real Madrid is no stranger to some sour international breaks and with all the injuries going on within the squad, it is surprising to see some of the names out on international duty. Over the course of international duty, we saw Varane go down with an injury against Iceland ending his French call-u, and Toni Kroos is heading back to Madrid early.
Gareth Bale as well, with his fitness coming into question, is on his way back to Madrid and of course, we have seen Luka Modric who has logged some of the most minutes in the world this past year still running around for Croatia even after admitting he is still fatigued from the World Cup.
The first question is, “Why do we let all these players go?” Luka Modric hasn’t seemed to be himself this year so far and has even said he is tired from his long summer, but he continues to serve the Croatian national team.
Gareth Bale, who has been taken off the last couple of matches for fitness reasons, has not officially gotten hurt yet, but with all of the worries about his health sending him to the Welsh national team again doesn’t seem like the best decision.
Varane is still enjoying the French victory tour and is now a worry because of his most recent injury against Iceland and with the lack of defenders at Madrid currently available, it is surprising to see him off as well.
The next thing to worry about is El Clasico, October 28th, the world’s biggest football match. This is the biggest rivalry in sports, Barcelona versus Real Madrid. The two top dogs of the Spanish league, and the top dogs in European soccer over the last century.
Real sees the bitter rivals of Catalonia and they, of course, are fighting for the top spot in La Liga still.
Real Madrid currently has some major injuries and a couple of suspects for fitness that could really effect the outcome of this match. With Isco, Carvajal, Benzema, and Marcelo all out indefinitely as of right now some questions have popped up for Lopetegui and his squad.
Not to mention Varane, Modric, and Bale are all having their fitness questioned on top of this. Luckily for Madrid, the next few games after the international break right before the clash with Barcelona should be a bit of an easier load, but after going four games without a goal there is a lot of questions for Los Blancos.
If they are to drop more points before seeing Barcelona this is going to end up being a very tight second half of the season, and we are going to see some major changes with the roster, and management in Madrid.