Madrid, Dec 8 (IANS) Real Madrid central defender Eder Militao could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the Brazilian limped out of Sunday’s home defeat to Celta Vigo. Militao went to the ground clutching his left hamstring after having chased down Celta forward Pablo Duran, and had to be helped off the pitch in evident pain before being replaced by Antonio Rudiger.
Although the club has yet to publish a medical report, it seems unlikely Militao will play again in 2025, and he has to be considered a serious doubt for the Spanish Supercup, which will be played in Saudi Arabia in early January, reports Xinhua.
Militao has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, needing two knee operations and then suffering another muscle problem that sidelined him for a fortnight in November.
The injury comes at the worst possible time for the under-pressure Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, whose side entertains Manchester City in a vital Champions League game on Wednesday.
As well as Militao, Alonso will also be missing David Alaba, Dean Huijsen, Ferland Mendy, Dani Carvajal, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is also likely to miss the rest of 2025.
That leaves just Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio as Real Madrid’s only two fit central defenders, while the red cards shown to left-backs Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia on Sunday mean they will be suspended for next weekend’s La Liga visit to Deportivo Alaves.
The weekend was not that great for Real Madrid.
After Real Madrid appeared to return to their best form with a 3-0 win against Athletic Club last Wednesday, nobody expected Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Celta Vigo to brutally expose Xabi Alonso’s men.
Celta were the better side, with Borja Iglesias and Bryan Zaragoza causing all sorts of problems for a defense that lost Eder Militao to injury in the first half.
Real Madrid’s indiscipline then saw Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras both sent off after each saw two yellow cards inside barely a minute, while Endrick also saw red for his complaints from the dugout.
It was like one step forward and two steps back for Real Madrid and Alonso, and with Manchester City visiting the Bernabeu on Wednesday, they may find it difficult to thwart Pep Guardiola’s side.
–IANS
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