Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night, and whereas Bayern managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit on the road against a tough Freiburg side, Real collapsed to a 2-1 defeat in which they were outplayed by lowly Mallorca.
Their one glimmer of hope was offered by center back Eder Militao, who scored a brilliant goal with his head, rising above the fray to give Real Madrid a brief equalizer that Alvaro Carreras and the rest of the defense would later throw away in the waning minutes of the match to Pichichi sleeper Vedat Muriqi.
Militao made his return from another serious injury, as he was out up until that afternoon with Mallorca with a hamstring tear that cost him four months in total. The Brazilian star is by far the best center back on Real Madrid and crucial to the team, but this is his third major injury in quick succession after suffering torn ACLs in the previous two seasons.
Eder Militao may not start vs. Bayern either
As such, Real Madrid are not messing around and are taking Eder Militao's health as cautious as possible. According to a new report from Diario AS, via Madrid Xtra, not only was Militao not slated to start against Mallorca - and indeed he came in off the bench for Dean Huijsen in the 60th minute - but he is also not set to start against Bayern Munich either.
Harry Kane may be able to return against Real Madrid, but even if he does not play due to injury, Bayern are still more than capable of scoring goals without him. Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise, Luis Diaz, Lennart Karl, Jamal Musiala, and even Tom Bischof are all very capable scoring options.
So not starting Militao is a risk. But having a worse injury to the superstar center back could fully doom their chances in the Champions League second leg and beyond, as well as the rest of the La Liga campaign, which is still up for grabs despite how bleak things look after a loss to Mallorca.
There is a case to be made that with Thibaut Courtois out, a healthy Militao is the most important player on Real Madrid. If one of Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, or Jude Bellingham is out, there are other stars who can take over. When Mllitao is out, there is a huge drop off between him and the other options at center back.