Vinicius Junior injury: Real Madrid issue update ahead of El Clasico | OneFootball

Real Madrid have little concern over Vinicius Junior ahead of Sunday's potentially decisive Clasico against Barcelona, even with the Brazilian being withdrawn before the end of Wednesday's epic Champions League battle with Manchester City.

Vinicius played 102 minutes of the contest, which eventually saw Madrid prevail on penalties in pursuit of their record-extending 15th European Cup. But he was replaced by Lucas Vazquez in the first half of extra-time due to injury, with the tie's outcome still in the balance.

Given that Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu in just a matter of days, his substitution naturally worried fans. But The Athletic's Guillermo Rai revealed he has been assured by the club that Vinicius and Dani Carvajal, who also went off injured during the tense period of extra-time, were both "dancing in the locker room with the music super loud" afterwards.

Having finished sixth in the 2023 Ballon d'Or vote Vinicius has further underlined his status as one of the best in the world this season, his first wearing Madrid's iconic number seven shirt made famous by legends like Raymond Kopa, Emilio Butragueno, Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 23-year-old has racked up 28 goals and assists across 31 games in all competitions, with only Jude Bellingham (30), who has played four extra games, registering more in the Madrid squad.

Ahead of the weekend's Clasico, Madrid hold an eight-point lead over Barcelona in La Liga. Victory, as was already the case in the reverse league meeting and the Supercopa de Espana final in October and January respectively, would grow that gap to a surely insurmountable 11 points with only six games to go. Conversely, a Barca win would cut the deficit to just five points.

Madrid's last La Liga title came as recently as 2021/22, a season in which they also claimed the Champions League trophy. That double remains a distinct possibility again now, with Bayern Munich standing in the way over two legs in the semi-finals later this month and into May.