Éder Militão suffered a torn ACL at the same time as Rodrygo and Lucas Vazquez were substituted in the first half of Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday to further compound their injury woes.
Vinícius Júnior scored a hat-trick for Madrid and Jude Bellingham netted his first goal of the season, but the victory was marred by triple injuries to Militão, Rodrygo and Vázquez.
“It turned into a good sport, we controlled it nicely from the start,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “From the moment we opened the scoring, the group looked at their best. Shame about the injuries in the first 1/2. Now we judge them and we’ll see.
“Three injuries in the first half is quite strange. The schedule is worrying and doesn’t allow players to rest. They come into the game tired so the risk of injury is better.”
Forward Rodrygo – who simply returned to the group after recovering from a hamstring problem – withdrew in the 20th minute at the Bernabéu and was replaced by Brahim Díaz.
The Militão centre-back wished to make amends 10 minutes later before being stretchered off, with teenager Raul Asencio brought into his area.
Madrid revealed shortly on Saturday that Militão had torn his left ACL and would undergo surgery in the next few days. The Brazil international missed most of last season with a torn ACL in the same leg. It is the fourth ACL damage suffered by a Madrid player in the past 12 months, with Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba also suffering tears.
A fully recovered Vázquez switched on after being withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Luka Modric.
Madrid are short in defence, Dani Carvajal is out for the season with a serious injury and Alaba has not fully recovered.
They are also missing goalkeeper Courtois, who has a thigh injury, and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni – who fills in at the back now and then – who has a sprained ankle.
“We should thank the academy for the paintings they completed with [Asencio],” Ancelotti stated. “He is the participant we need right now… Raul did well with [reserve team] Castilla and now he will be with us.”
Ancelotti would not say whether the string of accidents has made January signings that much more likely.
“We will look into this over the coming months,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do right now. We’ll compare what we do in January.”
“I don’t need to talk about it because it hurts me to watch my teammates cry,” Diaz said after the game when asked about the damage done to the members.
“It breaks my heart. I came back from long damage and now it’s their turn. It looks like they might be longer than standard.”
Madrid have been under pressure for a long time at Osasuna, after being beaten twice in their previous home matches, against Barcelona and AC Milan.
They now have a fortnight’s destruction before they return to action against Leganés on November 24 and travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Champions League on November 27.
Saturday’s win leaves Madrid six points behind leaders Barcelona, who play on Sunday.
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