Real Madrid’s struggles continue to mount following a painful La Liga loss to Celta Vigo and a damaging home defeat to Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. The back-to-back setbacks have intensified pressure on head coach Xabi Alonso, while a growing injury list has further derailed Los Blancos’ attempt to regain momentum.
Injury Crisis Deepens Ahead of Alaves Clash
Real Madrid are set to face Alaves in La Liga on Sunday, but Alonso is dealing with a massive selection headache. A staggering 12 first-team players are either injured or doubtful for the trip to Vitoria, making the task even more daunting.
Kylian Mbappe missed the Champions League defeat against Manchester City due to knee discomfort and a broken finger. Although the French star returned to training on Friday, his availability against Alaves remains uncertain.
“𝑴𝒃𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚,” 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.
The club will travel with Mbappe only if his knee shows sufficient improvement, but the risk of aggravating the injury remains high.
No Fullbacks Available as Absences Mount
Real Madrid’s defensive options are severely depleted. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, and Eder Militao are all sidelined through injury. Meanwhile, Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia are suspended, leaving the squad without a single senior fullback.
Teenage prospect Victor Valdepeñas could be drafted in as an emergency solution.
Alongside Mbappe, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger, and Dean Huijsen are also doubtful, pushing the total number of absentees to 12.
“𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Real Madrid have managed just one win in their last five La Liga matches, adding further pressure ahead of the Alaves test.
Currently second in the league with 36 points from 16 games, Madrid trails leaders Barcelona by four points. If Barça defeat Osasuna on Saturday, the gap could stretch to seven, making Sunday’s match even more crucial for Alonso and his injury-hit squad.
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