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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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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona13110240122833
2Real Madrid1283125111427
3Atletico MadridAtletico137511971226
4Villarreal127322319424
5Osasuna136341720-321
6Athletic Bilbao135531913620
7Real BetisBetis135531412220
8Real Sociedad135351110118
9Mallorca135351010018
10GironaGirona135351617-118
11Celta Vigo135262022-217
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15AlavesAlaves134181422-813
16Las PalmasLas Palmas133371622-612
17Getafe13175811-310
18Espanyol123181122-1110
19Real ValladolidValladolid132381025-159
20Valencia11146817-97


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