Manchester City aren’t the only team with injury troubles ahead of their Champions League clash. Their opponents, Real Madrid, face a similar situation, with David Alaba, Casemiro and Ferland Mendy all picking up injuries recently.
There has been some rightful unrest among Real Madrid fans regarding the fitness of these three stars, and according to Carlos Rodriguez, things haven’t improved all that much.
Okay, good news first. Ferland Mendy is recovering well, and is making ‘reasonable progress’, he might be able to be fit in time for the game vs Manchester City.
David Alaba and Casemiro are still doubts for the game against Manchester City
However, according to the reporter, David Alaba is still a doubt, and the results of the tests conducted won’t arrive until Saturday. Casemiro is a much bigger doubt for the game, and it’s difficult for him to be fit for the game vs City.
This comes as a massive, massive blow to Real Madrid’s chances of getting past Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Casemiro would be really, really important in making sure that there is no extra space that City’s players can exploit in Real’s half, and he’d obviously hold a very important aerial presence.
With Alaba, it’s another really big issue, because Real Madrid’s third-choice centre-back, Nacho Fernandez, is simply not good enough to be third choice, and Real Madrid need to sign a centre-back as soon as possible for situations exactly like this one. The depth in defense is minimal, and the club needs to do something about it.
At least Mendy is recovering, so that’s a very good sign. Real Madrid don’t have Marcelo or Miguel Gutierrez, so if Mendy doesn’t play, and Alaba is not able to come back in time for the game, Real Madrid would have to field the same defense (with the exception of Militao being in place of Alaba) that they went with against Sevilla, which just isn’t ideal.
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Alaba needs to be there, and I really hope he recovers in time, the same with the rest of the injured players.