Real Madrid didn’t just lose 4-1 to Valencia at the Mestalla on Sunday. They also lost a key starting midfielder for at least a month.
It has been a rough season for Real Madrid so far. There have been some major highs, such as a big road win against Barcelona, but Los Blancos have suffered injuries and embarrassing defeats already. Martin Odegaard, Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Odriozola, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos, and Eden Hazard are among – but not all – the notable players who have missed time with injuries.
Now, you can add Fede Valverde to the list.
The all-important midfielder suffered a fracture to the posterior tibial spine of his right leg, according to a report from COPE’s Arancha Rodriguez.
She also reports that Valverde is expected to miss more than a month with this injury.
In the aftermath of Real Madrid’s loss to Valencia, fans were worried about a possible injury to Karim Benzema. The striker left the pitch in the 76th minute with some apparent discomfort, and it’s unusual for Benz, who scored the team’s lone goal in the 4-1 loss, to leave the pitch.
Fede Valverde could miss some crucial games for Real Madrid
There are no updates on Benzema yet, but hearing about Valverde’s injury makes the situation that much more dire for Los Blancos.
Valverde has been Player of the Month three times in 2020, including last month in October. He scored great goals against Barcelona and Huesca in the recent La Liga victories before the disaster at the Mestalla. In total, Valverde is second behind Benzema with three goals in La Liga.
In addition to his emerging goal-scoring, the 22-year-old Uruguayan is an immense defensive contributor as a box-to-box midfielder. Valverde’s endless energy makes him a huge weapon in Real Madrid’s biggest games, including El Clasico and El Derbi.
Los Blancos have tough games coming out of the international break against title sleepers Villarreal, Inter Milan in the Champions League, Alaves, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Atletico Madrid.
So if Valverde is injured for a month, he could miss six pivotal matches, though Alaves could count as a seventh since they recently drew with Barcelona.
It doesn’t get any easier for Real Madrid with Valverde injured.