Real Madrid pair to miss start of Club World Cup through injury | OneFootball

Two members of the defensive ranks at La Liga giants Real Madrid are expected to miss the club’s opening fixtures at the upcoming Club World Cup through injury.

That’s according to Blancos insiders Mario Cortegana and Guillermo Rai of The Athletic, who point towards Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba as the pair in question.

Stoppers Rüdiger and Alaba are of course both sidelined at present.

In the case of the former, as much comes after he underwent surgery back in April, to solve a long-standing knee problem.

Defensive partner Alaba, meanwhile, suffered a setback of his own in late April, in the form of a meniscus injury in his left knee.

There had previously been hope of both players returning to fitness in time to put themselves at the disposal of new manager Xabi Alonso from the off at the Club World Cup this month.

As confirmed by The Athletic, however, this now looks unlikely to be the case. Though both are expected to play at least some part in the USA:

‘Rüdiger and Alaba are not expected to be fit for the start of the tournament in just over two weeks.’

Conor Laird – GSFN