The injury woes continue to mount for Zinedine Zidane and the Real Madrid boss will be without several key players ahead of the visit to Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Real Madrid visit the Estadio de Balaidos on Wednesday night to take on Celta Vigo in the Copa Del Rey quarter-final second leg, when they would be looking to overturn the one-goal deficit from their loss to Eduardo Berizzo’s side last week at the Santiago Bernabeu.
On the team news front, the report isn’t exactly positive for Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, and the Frenchman has as many as seven first team regulars unavailable for Wednesday night’s encounter due to various short-to-long term injuries.
Defence is the worst hit area for Real Madrid, with the goalscorer from last week’s first leg Marcelo the latest to enter the treatment room. The Brazil international is now all set to miss the next one month of action after picking up a hamstring injury.
Other than Marcelo, Pepe (calf) and Dani Carvajal (hamstring) are also unavailable with their respective injuries, and the duo will continue to remain sidelined for a better part of the next month. Centre-back Raphael Varane has also been excluded from the squad by Zidane for the match against Celta.
??✅ #RMCopa
This is our squad for tomorrow’s Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg match ? @rccelta_oficial.#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/45eVRL66W8— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) January 24, 2017
In Varane’s absence, Zidane has no choice but to field Sergio Ramos and Nacho in the heart of the Real Madrid defence, with Danilo and Fabio Coentrao on either side of the centre-backs.
On Coentrao’s return to the first team setup, Zidane said: “Tomorrow he’s going to be with us because after his long injury, once you get better, the requirement of training sometimes bother you a bit. Tomorrow he’ll be with us and I hope all of this is over for him soon.”
Up ahead in midfield, the situation is pretty grim as well, with Luka Modric absent for Real Madrid due to a thigh strain, but the Croatian is only expected to miss the match against Celta on Wednesday.
Meanwhile James Rodriguez, who missed the last four games for Real Madrid with a strain on his left calf has now picked up a strain in the same muscle in the right leg. The Colombian is set to spend the next two to three weeks on the sidelines. Gareth Bale is long-term absentee, with the Welshman supposed to be back in March from his ankle injury.
Speaking on James Rodriguez’s situation, Zidane said: “He’s got a problem with the other leg, a strain. It’s not an injury, but when you have something on one side you can always get the same on the other side. I hope it’s not serious because it’s only a strain.”
Here’s the 19-man Real Madrid squad selected by Zinedine Zidane for the trip to Balaidos on Wednesday to face Celta Vigo:
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla and Rubén Yáñez.
Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Fabio Coentrão, Danilo and Achraf Hakimi.
Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic, Marco Asensio, Isco and Enzo Zidane.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Lucas Vázquez, Mariano Diaz and Alvaro Morata.
