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Real Madrid logo
La Liga | Gameweek 23
Feb 4, 2024 at 8pm UK
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Atletico Madrid logo
Real Madrid
1 - 1
Atletico
Diaz (20')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Llorente (90+3')
Niguez (37'), Hermoso (38'), Barrios (85'), Depay (90+5')

Real Madrid facing centre-back crisis for Madrid derby

Real Madrid facing centre-back crisis for Madrid derby
© Reuters
Real Madrid sweat over the fitness of Antonio Rudiger for the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid, with Eder Militao, David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni all out.

Real Madrid are sweating over the fitness of Antonio Rudiger for Sunday's Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid, with the German bidding to overcome a thigh problem.

Rudiger had to be replaced at the interval of Thursday's La Liga clash with Getafe, having picked up a thigh injury during a tussle with the home team's on-loan Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood.

The centre-back was initially able to continue but was forced off at the interval, and according to AS, he is a major doubt for the clash with Atletico this weekend.

Aurelien Tchouameni moved into the middle of the defence against Getafe alongside Nacho, but the former picked up a yellow card in the latter stages of Thursday's game, ruling him out of the Madrid derby through suspension.

Eder Militao and David Alaba are both on the sidelines with ACL injuries, meanwhile, meaning that Nacho could potentially be the club's only senior centre-back available this weekend.

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal pictured on October 16, 2022© Reuters

Should Rudiger fail to recover, Dani Carvajal or Ferland Mendy are likely to be pressed into action as a central defender in the all-Madrid clash.

"If we don't have Rudiger we will put in another centre-back who will not be used to playing there, but will do it very well," Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said during his press conference on Thursday.

"I don't know what happened, he took out the card and Tchouameni won't be there for the game. Rudiger has had a blow and we'll see what happens in the next few days.

"We have two days for him to recover. It's a strong blow to the muscle. Rudiger is a warrior and it's difficult for him not to get to the game because of a little annoyance."

New Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger pictured on June 20, 2022© Reuters

Rudiger's issue is thought to be an impact injury rather than a muscular problem, but a decision on his involvement is unlikely to be made until Saturday.

"We are very emotional and the team is motivated. We fought, fought and we managed this game very well, which was not very simple," Ancelotti added after the 2-0 success over Getafe.

"Getafe plays a football with many duels and aerial balls. We had a lot of presence on the field because we have very strong players."

Joselu's brace against Getafe secured Real Madrid's 18th La Liga win of the campaign, with the capital outfit moving ahead of Girona to the top of the table.

Ancelotti's side have two huge league games against Atletico and Girona before heading to Germany for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on February 13.

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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid23184148153358
2GironaGirona23175152252756
3Barcelona23155347301750
4Atletico MadridAtletico23153545252048
5Athletic Bilbao23136442212145
6Real Sociedad23910432211137
7Valencia2310582927235
8Real BetisBetis2381142625135
9Las PalmasLas Palmas239592320332
10Getafe237972931-230
11AlavesAlaves2375112330-726
12Osasuna2375112636-1026
13Rayo Vallecano235992030-1024
14Villarreal2366113345-1224
15Sevilla2348112937-820
16Celta Vigo2348112432-820
17Mallorca2331191930-1120
18CadizCadiz23211101531-1617
19Granada2326152345-2212
20Almeria2306172251-296

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