MADRID (AP) — There’s no end to Real Madrid’s injury woes this season.
The same night coach Carlo Ancelotti apparently found a solution to the absence of Jude Bellingham — with Brahim Díaz playing well and being decisive as his substitute — Díaz himself became the latest Madrid player to go down with an injury.
Díaz had to be replaced with a calf problem in the 84th minute of Madrid’s 1-0 victory at Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday. He had scored Madrid’s winner in the 48th after a beautiful solo run that culminated with a left-footed shot into the top corner.
Díaz left the field with his calf wrapped in ice and was expected to undergo further testing on Thursday to find out the extent of the injury. Ancelotti said Díaz also had a knock on his ankle.
“I felt a little knock and I think that it affected my calf muscle,” Díaz said after the match. “We still don’t know anything about the injury, but I’m walking and I think it was more of a scare than anything.”
Díaz started because Bellingham, one of Madrid’s best players this season, sprained his left ankle in the team’s 4-0 win over Girona in the Spanish league on Saturday. The England international is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks.
The return match against Leipzig in the round of 16 of the Champions League will be on March 6.
Díaz celebrated his goal with his arms spread wide open, imitating Bellingham’s trademark celebration.
Ancelotti had already lost key players even before the season started, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Éder Militão sustaining knee ligament injuries. Central defender David Alaba also hurt a knee ligament last year, and most recently it was Antonio Rüdiger who depleted the Madrid defense.
The club decided not to bring in another central defender during the latest transfer window that closed in January, forcing Ancelotti to improvise in the middle of the defense with either midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni or right back Dani Carvajal.
Tchouaméni himself was sidelined by injury this season, as were defender Nacho Fernández, left back Ferland Mendy, forward Vinícius Júnior and midfielders Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Güler.
Díaz said Madrid’s performance against Leipzig without some of its injured players “showed that we are still a good team, that we are Real Madrid.”
If Díaz can’t play in Bellingham’s place while he is out, Ancelotti will have to likely choose to go either with a more defensive midfielder or include striker Joselu in the attack while bringing back a forward like Rodrygo.
Madrid’s next game is at Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league on Sunday. Madrid has a five-point lead over second-place Girona and is 10 points ahead of third-place Barcelona.
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