Real Madrid's Injury Crisis Deepens as Key Defender Falls During International Duty
Real Madrid and Brazil defender Éder Militão was forced to leave the field with what appeared to be an injury during Brazil's international friendly match against Tunisia.
Brazilian medical personnel attended to Militão during the second half after he showed signs of discomfort. The defender received a ball from Marquinhos at midfield before distributing it wide. Militão immediately appeared to be in pain and signaled for play to be stopped.
Carlo Ancelotti made a substitution, bringing on Fabricio Bruno as the Real Madrid player left the pitch with medical staff. The defender is suffering from an adductor problem, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, and will undergo further examination.
Militão becomes the second Real Madrid defender to sustain an injury during this international break, following Dean Huijsen's withdrawal from Spain's squad due to a groin issue. Kylian Mbappé and Eduardo Camavinga were also released early from France duty.
Alonso to Depend on Inexperienced Central Defensive Partnership
Militão had remained healthy at the start of this campaign, but any possible absence would be deeply concerning for both Madrid and Brazil.
The defender was sidelined for most of the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons due to ACL injuries. Although the extent of his current injury is unclear, he has previously missed matches due to muscle problems.
A possible period on the treatment table arrives at an unfortunate moment for Madrid boss Xabi Alonso. Aurélien Tchouaméni and Franco Mastantuono are nursing injuries while Antonio Rüdiger and Dani Carvajal face lengthy absences. The latter had arthroscopic knee surgery on his right leg in October.
Should both Militão and Huijsen be unavailable, and makeshift center back Tchouaméni stays injured, Alonso might be compelled to use the recently recovered David Alaba and Raúl Asencio in central defense. Considering Madrid's quality in that position, this represents a far from perfect situation after watching their La Liga advantage narrow to three points before the international pause.
Asencio played a significant role last season under Ancelotti, making 23 La Liga appearances and 10 more in the Champions League during the Italian's injury problems. However, under Alonso, the Spanish player has been limited to a backup role with only three La Liga starts.
Alaba has battled his own injury troubles in recent seasons. Across the past two years, Alaba was absent for more than 90 matches for club and country due to meniscus and ACL injuries.
Real Madrid resume play on Sunday, Nov. 23 against Elche.