Real Madrid Attacker Ruled Out For Three Months With Muscle Injury

Brahim Díaz was substituted against Real Sociedad with an injury.

The injury crisis at Real Madrid has taken another victim as attacker Brahim Díaz is set to face a three-month spell on the sideline after suffering a thigh injury in the course of the team’s 2-0 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday night.

The Morocco international had been given a starting role in San Sebastián, but was forced off after 25 minutes of action and coach Carlo Ancelotti replaced him with fellow forward Rodrygo Goes.

“After the tests carried out today to our player Brahim Díaz by the Medical Services of Real Madrid, he has been diagnosed with an injury in the abductor longus of the right leg,” the club said in a statement on Sunday.

The absence of Brahim will further compound the team’s attacking woes, as he has been scored or assisted two of the team’s five goals from open play in La Liga this season.

Now, Ancelotti will likely need to resort to the 4-3-3 shape with Rodrygo Goes in the front line, and will have more limited options off the bench. On Saturday, the coach only used three of his five available substitutes due to the lack of options, with Endrick Felipe being the only first-team attacker available from the bench in the second half.

The injury is expected to keep him out until December, meaning that he could miss as many as 17 matches. That run will include several high-profile games both domestically and on the continent.

In La Liga, Brahim will certainly miss the matches against Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelona, in late September and late October respectively, and he will be hoping to be coming close to a return ahead of the visit to Girona, who completed last season’s top four, in December.

In the Champions League, Brahim will be unavailable for Los Blancos’ most difficult fixtures. That includes the run of games which welcomes Borussia Dortmund and his former club, AC Milan, to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, as well as the visit to Anfield to take on Liverpool in November.

He will instead be targeting a return around the date of a second meeting this season with Italian side Atalanta, who Real Madrid beat in the UEFA European Super Cup in Poland in August.

The good news for Ancelotti could lie in that Jude Bellingham is close to a return to action and could even make the bench for Tuesday night’s Champions League meeting with VfB Stuttgart, having missed around a month of action.

He could be joined by Aurelién Tchouameni, who missed Saturday’s game after picking up a toe injury while on international duty with France.

Eduardo Camavinga is not expected to be back in contention until later this month at the earliest, while Dani Ceballos is also targeting a return in late September after being ruled out with an ankle injury.

Long-term injured players David Alaba and youngster Joan Martínez remain sidelined for the foreseeable future. Another defender, young Jacobo Román, is also working on a closer return date to add depth to Ancelotti’s bench.