Injury and suspemnsions hit Real Madrid at just the wrong time
Xinhua, April 20, 2015 Adjust font size:
Real Madrid' s injury worries continue to pile up as they prepare to entertain city rivals, Atletico in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The tie is evenly balanced after the two sides fought out a 0-0 draw in Atletico' s Vicente Calderon Stadium a week ago in a game Real should have won as a result of the first half chances they carved out.
The failure to score an away goal is a disadvantage for Real Madrid for the return leg because should Atletico score in the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, that would leave Real needing to score twice, but coach Carlo Ancelotti has bigger problems at the moment.
Last week saw left back Marcelo pick up a booking which means he is suspended for the return leg and Fabio Coentrao, who has not played in a month, looks likely to step into to replace him.
Marcelo' s loss is important, but Saturday' s 3-1 win at home to Malaga threw up two more problems for Ancelotti as first Gareth Bale picked up a calf injury which means he will miss the game, before Luka Modric hurt his knee in a second half collision.
Tests on Sunday show Modric has twisted knee ligaments and will miss the rest of the season, denying Ancelotti his side' s main playmaker and a footballer who has no direct replacement given that none of his substitutes: Asier Illaramendi, Sami Khedria or Lucas Silva have his creativity or vision.
It is no coincidence that Real' s downturn in form at the start of the year coincided with Modric' s absence with another knee injury and their recent recovery with his return to the side and he will be very hard to replace.
Meanwhile Karim Benzema, who missed Saturday' s game with a knee problem of his own, is also likely to miss out with Jese Rodriguez likely to replace him and Isco also ready to start.
With Atletico unbeaten in 7 matches against their neighbors this mini-crisis could not have come at a worse time for Ancelotti ahead of a game whose result could determine his future at the club. Endi