Karim Benzema, Rodrygo Goes, Ferland Mendy injury concerns before Barcelona match
Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 3-0 on Monday night in LaLiga, overcoming a tough first half to run away with the match in the second, thanks to some more excellence from forwards Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. in front of goal.
However, with the positive news of a victory – and another brace for Benzema – comes negative news, including for the superstar No. 9. And yes, sadly, that bad news comes on the injury front for the Merengue club, as has been common over the past year or so.
First, it was Rodrygo Goes who went down with a nasty-looking injury in the second half, needing to be subbed off for Marco Asensio in Mallorca. Rodrygo suffered a challenge that received a yellow and could have even been red. He is dealing with an ankle injury, and things don’t look good. But Madridistas will have to wait until tests to see the result of the injury.
The second injury was to left back Ferland Mendy, who reportedly has a muscular issue. He actually asked the team to subbed him when he went down. Perhaps his injury will not be as serious, but Mendy has missed time in 2021 and 2022, including for a while with a stress/shin-splints injury. As we know, his defensive solidity is important to Real Madrid, though Los Blancos looked good against PSG without him. Nacho Fernandez stepped up big-time in that one.
Karim Benzema would be the biggest loss for Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
Finally, the biggest injury of the three in terms of the impact it could have on El Clasico, as Real Madrid will face Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday for what will be the toughest rivalry matchup against them of the season.
Karim Benzema went down with an injury late in the game after bagging a brace via a header. He appeared to suffer a calf injury.
The good news is that early indications seem to be that Benz’s injury is not serious, though Madridistas, will, again, have to wait for more information and the results of tests. Though Luka Jovic stepped up against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid during Benzema’s injury earlier this season, he was not in the squad against Mallorca. Benzema is irreplaceable, and his absence against Barcelona would be very tough for Los Blancos.
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Hopefully, none of these players have suffered serious injuries, but this match against Mallorca was out-of-control due to rough challenges at the Iberostar and another cowardly officiating performance from the worst official in European football, Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez. LaLiga’s standard must get better, or he will lead to more players getting injured, like Rodrygo.