Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has officially underwent surgery, and even though it could complicate his future at the club, it is a good thing that he did. Rudiger announced in his social media post that he was playing with pain for more than seven months, which is just not a good thing to do for a football player.
He is not the first player to be doing that, and won't be the last, but it is just tough to imagine yourself in that situation - playing through so much pain only to keep giving more than your all for the team you play for and love.
However, Rudiger has now undergone surgery, and will spend the next few weeks resting and recovering from the injury. He would not have played these LaLiga games anyway, but now it helps that he is actually taking care of his own self.
Real Madrid only have three defenders left
This leaves Real Madrid with just three central defenders. David Alaba, Raul Asencio and Jesus Vallejo - if you want to count him as an option - are the only three available.
That is simply not a good look, and it shows again why Real Madrid should have signed a defender either in the summer or in the winter transfer window.
It also definitely shows why they need to sign a defender in the following summer transfer window.
Jacobo Ramon has been exceptional for Real Madrid Castilla
Let's face it, Real Madrid are probably not going to be winning the league this season, even though they have still yet to face Barcelona in May. It just does not seem likely, and these next few games could be huge for the club to test out how good Jacobo Ramon is for the future.
During his time at Castilla, Ramon was much better than Asencio, and look where Asencio is now. It did so much for the defender from the Canary Islands, it could well do the same for Ramon if departing manager Carlo Ancelotti were to give him a chance.
He is talented, and apart from a couple games, Jacobo has had a great season at Castilla. He keeps scoring goals, which is weird for defenders, and has comfortably been the reserve team's best defender of the 2024-25 season, including the time when Asencio was there.
It makes complete sense to give him a run rather than having an in-form pivot in Aurelien Tchouameni return to playing as a central defender, or playing Vallejo there. Even Alaba has been pretty bad since his return, and it would make complete sense for Ramon to play at least a few games, even if he cannot play the game against Barcelona.