Antonio Rüdiger will not make the trip to San Sebastián for Real Madrid’s upcoming La Liga bout with Real Sociedad.
Xabi Alonso did not include the German international in his 21-player squad for Saturday’s clash, sounding alarms bells throughout the Spanish capital. Minutes later, Los Blancos confirmed Rüdiger suffered an injury to the rectus femoris muscle of his left leg.
Although the club did not reveal a timeline for the center back, COPE’s Arancha Rodríguez reports Rüdiger will be sidelined for nearly three months. The 32-year-old could miss up to 17 matches for Real Madrid, including the Madrid derby, El Clásico and a trip to Anfield.
The news comes after Rüdiger played 172 minutes during the September international break. Although he appeared to come out unscathed following Germany’s 3–1 victory over Northern Ireland, the defender is now set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Rüdiger already missed the final stretch of last season with a knee injury and is now back in the infirmary less than three months after he made his return at the FIFA Club World Cup. The German joins Jude Bellingham, Endrick, Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy on the sidelines.
The injury blow comes less than 24 hours before Real Madrid face off with Real Sociedad. While Rüdiger was likely not in line to start over Dean Huijsen or Éder Militão, he provided depth off the bench if Alonso wished to manage his starters’ minutes ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League opener on Tuesday.
Now, Huijsen and Militão will have the burden of logging heavy minutes over the next few months. David Alaba and Raúl Asencio are options as well, but both players have struggled to produce when called upon in their most recent appearances.
Dani Carvajal, along with Aurélien Tchouaméni, are emergency options as well should Los Blancos be in desperate need of rotation in the following weeks.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Rocked By Surprise Injury Ahead of Real Sociedad Clash .