Real Madrid: Surprise Karim Benzema injury update

The Real Madrid winning machine continued on in the Champions League, as they beat RB Leipzig 2-0. Federico Valverde cropped up with another goal, this time in the 80th minute, and Marco Asensio scored late on, to seal the win and all three points. There was one worry coming out of the contest for Los Blancos though and that was how toothless they had looked for the majority of the match, without Karim Benzema up front.

Benzema picked up an injury against Celtic in the Champions League opener and has been out of action since then.

And while Real Madrid have continued winning, it is clear that they are missing a real number nine leading the line at the moment. Unfortunately, they have a Derby coming up against Atletico Madrid as well and rumours in the media have suggested that Benzema has already been ruled out from that game.

The update from Carlo Ancelotti does not seem to suggest so though, as he still gave Benzema a chance of being fit to play vs Atletico Madrid on Sunday. As reported by Real Madrid’s official website, the Italian manager said:

"“We’ll have to see whether he’s able to train or not in the coming days. We won’t be risking anything at all. If he trains well on Saturday, he’ll be involved on Sunday.”"

Real Madrid: Ancelotti delivers surprisingly positive Benzema update

This is great news for Real Madrid. Even if Benzema does not play on Sunday, it at least means that he is closing in on fitness and will be back in action soon.

Now, it remains to be seen when that turns out to be. And if Benzema does not play in the Atletico Madrid game, can Los Blancos cope with Diego Simeone’s side?

While their crosstown rivals might not be going through a great run of form, they have a habit of rising to these occasions and making things difficult. Can they do it this Sunday as well? And if so, how will Real Madrid deal with it, with no real number nine leading the line for them?