Real Madrid have confirmed that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and left-back Marcelo have been sidelined through injury, with both now doubts to feature in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with Manchester City.
Courtois was left limping after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Real Betis, whereas Marcelo managed just an hour of the game before needing to be replaced by Ferland Mendy.
Tests have now been conducted on both players, and Real have revealed the frustrating results. Beginning with Courtois, they state that the Belgian has suffered an adductor injury, while Marcelo has picked up a hamstring injury.
Real don’t actually mention the severity of each issue or for how long the pair will be sidelined, but their chances of featuring against City seem incredibly slim.
Both Courtois and Marcelo will miss Friday’s visit of Eibar, and it would come as a huge surprise to see either recover in time to travel to the Etihad Stadium just four days later.
Zinedine Zidane will hope his side have enough firepower to get past La Liga strugglers Eibar, but overcoming the odds against City will certainly be a whole lot tougher. They are already 2-1 down and they now might be without two key players for the game.
In goal, Alphonse Areola should be handed a rare chance to strut his stuff, having made just three league appearances all season, while Mendy will likely step in to replace Marcelo.
They are already without Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio, while Isco, Nacho Fernández and Dani Carvajal have all been struggling with illness, so at least Courtois and Marcelo won’t get lonely on the treatment table.
It was Isco who gave his side the lead in the first leg against City, but late goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne turned things around pretty quickly.
To make matters worse, Sergio Ramos’ late red card means he will be suspended for the upcoming game, so Zidane’s defence could be down to the bare bones for the trip to the Etihad.
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