Real Madrid vs. Valencia: Another star player is out with an injury

Real Madrid came into their Tuesday night match at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano against Getafe with a severely depleted lineup due to injury. Although they won 2-0 and dominated on both ends of the pitch with their innovative 3-4-3 setup, they did lose another key player to injury.

Left back Marcelo played like something between a central attacking midfielder and left-sided wide midfielder vs. Getafe, and he ended up being the best player on the pitch. Marcelo turned back the clock in this attacking role, creating chance after chance for Los Blancos and doing his best to press and recover the ball defensively.

Unfortunately, Javier Herraez of Cadena SER’s El Larguero reports (tweet in Spanish) that the experienced defender/midfielder will be unable to play this weekend against Valencia due to a calf injury. Further testing will determine the extent of the injury.

Real Madrid will face the Bats on Sunday, Feb. 14 at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, looking for revenge after Carlos Soler put three penalties past Los Blancos in a 4-1 match at the Mestalla earlier this season.

Real Madrid’s Marcelo won’t get a ‘revenge game’ vs. Valencia

The impact of Marcelo’s injury will depend on which other Madrid players won’t be able to suit up this weekend. Alvaro Odriozola, Dani Carvajal, Fede Valverde, Eder Militao, and Lucas Vazquez are among those who are questionable. Toni Kroos will be back after serving a suspension. Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos, and Rodrygo Goes are the more long-term absences.

It’s tough to see that Marcelo is injured just when he produced what was by far his best performance of the 2020-2021 season. And you just know he would have liked to have an encore against Valencia, especially since he was among those who struggled at the Mestalla this season.

The Brazilian wasn’t the only player injured for Los Blancos on Tuesday night, though. Youngster Marvin Park was the starter on the opposite flank at the heart of the 3-4-3 and played very well against Marc Cucurella, but he was substituted early in the second half of his first Real Madrid start due to an injury. Sergio Arribas entered the fray and was also impressive.

Hopefully, Marcelo’s injury is not serious and he will be back and ready to impress again for Los Merengues after the weekend’s fixture.