Toni Kroos Injury: Real Madrid star could return against Sheriff

Real Madrid are in a pickle at the moment. It may not look like it, because, at the time of writing this, they do sit at the top of the table. However, there are obvious issues that have been underlined many times over the course of the season, and one of them is an overburden of creative responsibilities on legendary midfielder Luka Modric.

Luka Modric, when fit, has started all but one game for Real Madrid this season. There has been a clear over-reliance on his creative juices, as no other midfielder in the starting XI is able to provide what he does. Isco can do it to an extent, but Modric and Isco rarely get a chance to co-exist. All this is because of Toni Kroos’s absence.

Kroos could make his first Real Madrid appearance this season against Sheriff

Real Madrid have been without Toni Kroos for a very long time now.  Kroos hasn’t featured for Los Blancos ever since the last game of the previous season, a 2-1 win at home against Villarreal.

Since then, Kroos participated in the Euros with Germany, and when they got knocked out, he took his time to recover from an injury that has been troubling him since March 2021.

But, according to his interview with Goal, all that is going to change very soon.

The German superstar said in the interview that he feels very good after having a few training sessions under his belt. He no longer feels pain while training, which is a very good thing, and that he is available for a call-up if Ancelotti thinks it’s OK to play him.

It’ll be such a good feeling having Kroos back in the first team, because, without him, Real Madrid have really looked a step slower in midfield. Well, “a step” is an understatement. Even though they have gotten results, Kroos’ absence was felt from a mile away.

The way he controls the tempo of the game, his vision and his passing and so many other things that make him great, Real Madrid definitely missed all of that. They’ve struggled to gain midfield control in a few games this season. But hey, he’s back now, and it’s time for Real Madrid’s midfield to get back to their usual best.

The main question is, will Kroos play against Sheriff in the Champions League on Tuesday? Well, he could. He’s definitely in contention. But the fact that he hasn’t played a single game for Real Madrid in over three months makes it a tough decision for Ancelotti. Does the Italian coach ease Kroos into the line-up? Because I’m sure Ancelotti is aware of the risky nature of injuries. He wouldn’t want to worsen the German’s situation.

Because of that, I think Ancelotti might opt to start him on the bench and then bring him on as a substitute against Sheriff. It depends on the rest of the line-up, and the situation of the game at the time of bringing Kroos on.

Even if Kroos doesn’t feature against Sheriff, it’s almost certain that he will go back to normal ways and start against Espanyol on Saturday. It’s been a while, Toni. I sure have missed you. I’m not the only one.