Opinion: Another Real Madrid injury? I despise the international break
By Ben Sundock
I honestly can’t believe I am writing about another Real Madrid injury. But, here we are. As players returned from international duty in the last couple of days, Luka Modric was one of the players who picked up an injury.
The international break is so frustrating. While it is fun to watch the Euro Championship and the World Cup, all these qualifying matches and friendlies during the middle of an already congested club schedule is just annoying and unnecessary.
It’s even more frustrating when a key player like Luka Modric gets hurt playing what was a meaningless 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan.
Ahead of an important and busy month of September for Real Madrid, manager Zinedine Zidane will not be able to use one of his key midfielders against Levante and with the first match of the Champions League group stage looming large, Los Blancos are now at a disadvantage because of international play.
Here is what the medical report from Real Madrid said of Modric’s injury:
"“Following the tests carried out today on our player Luka Modric by Real Madrid’s medical department, he has been diagnosed with a muscular injury to the abductor in his right leg. His recovery will continue to be assessed.”"
While Luka has yet to play a full match for his club during the new season – he received a red card in the opener against Celta Vigo and came off the bench against Villarreal – the midfielder played 180 minutes in the last two matches for Croatia.
It is incredibly frustrating to see Modric, who is 34-years-old, be used like this by his national team when he is crucial to Real Madrid’s success. Croatia will qualify for the 2020 Euros. There is no doubt about it.
Yet, manager Zlatko Dalić has overused Modric and did it again here. Now, it will be Zidane, Modric, and the team who will pay dearly for this injury.
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Making players travel great distances and not letting them take proper time off is a serious problem FIFA should look in to and address quickly. In the current format, there are too many breaks for international football.
Maybe once every two or three months would be fine, but not every month in the fall. Real Madrid should be happy Eden Hazard, James Rodriguez, and Brahim Diaz are returning, but losing Luka Modric is a huge blow that might cost Real Madrid the match against Paris Saint-Germain.
The responsibility will now fall to James, Isco, and Fede Valverde to pick up the slack. Let’s hope Luka is not out of action for too long.