Real Madrid confirmed that Eduardo Camavinga has sprained his ankle, while doubts over Federico Valverde’s fitness have also emerged after he was left out of the club’s squad for their final preseason friendly.
This double blow not only presents Xabi Alonso with a selection dilemma in the short term, but doesn’t instil much confidence in the club’s overhauled medical department.
Following his appointment earlier this summer, Alonso brought his chief fitness coach Ismael Camenforte with him from Bayer Leverkusen. Javier Arnaiz and Ismael Fernandez were also added in June while the legendary figure of Antonio Pintus was robbed of any significant influence with a shift to “Performance Manager” in what AS hailed as a “major shakeup” with characteristic excitement.
Some change was clearly needed. Madrid have been plagued by various fitness concerns during Pintus’s second spell in the Spanish capital. Over the last two years alone, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba and Éder Militão (twice) all sustained severe ACL injuries.
Camavinga is not expected to be sidelined for a significant chunk of time—MARCA suggest he could be fit for Madrid’s second La Liga match of the season against newly promoted Real Oviedo on Aug. 24.
Valverde will likely be back for the start of the new league campaign next week. COPE claim that his absence from Tuesday’s friendly against WSG Tirol is simply precautionary and a case of muscle overload.
Nevertheless, Alonso has plenty of other absentees to manage. Jude Bellingham is set to be out for as many as three months after undergoing surgery on a persistent shoulder problem this summer. Following the summer exit of Luka Modrić, Alonso is left with just Aurélien Tchouaméni and Dani Ceballos, who is actively pursuing a transfer of his own, as senior natural central midfielders for the midweek friendly.
Arda Güler can also operate in a more central position, as he demonstrated with mixed success during the Club World Cup.
Ferland Mendy is another fitness doubt while Madrid’s new No. 9 Endrick is recovering from a hamstring problem which forced him to miss the entire summer tournament.
Whatever the midfield setup, Valverde will be crucial. The all-action Uruguay international has the energy to plug many of the gaps which can open up around some of his less enthusiastic teammates. As Madrid brace themselves for a new campaign after a shortened summer break, Valverde noted: “All my teammates have shown they’ve worked hard during the break. That’s always good to avoid injuries and to be better when the season starts.”
The arrival of a new medical department should also stem the flow of bodies into the club’s treatment room this season—in theory, at least.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Dealt Double Injury Blow Ahead of La Liga Opener.