Real Madrid are having a year to forget in terms of injuries. The season began with the loss of Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao for the entire season, then Rüdiger, Alaba and Lucas Vázquez were out of the team for a few weeks. In the cup match against Real Sociedad, the bad news came in the form of an injury for Dani Ceballos, who will be out for two months. In addition, the focus of concern right now is Fede Valverde with discomfort and who forced himself to play against Atleti in the Champions League having become indispensable to Ancelotti. The Uruguayan may not be the only injury concern within the Whites.
Rüdiger, indispensable to Real Madrid and at the limit!
Rüdiger has become indispensable to Carlo Ancelotti, even more so this season when he has been unable to count on several of his defensive players. This season the German player has had problems with the biceps femoris in his right leg, which kept him in the infirmary for two weeks and meant he missed four matches. Since his return, the fitness trainers and medical services have been keeping a close eye on the German number 22.
Rüdiger has several chronic problems. He suffers from osteoarthritis in his left knee, which causes him pain that the player has come to live with. But other muscular ailments have been added throughout the season, such as that injury to the biceps femoris in his right leg. In addition, he has problems with his left meniscus as a result of that osteoarthritis and with his hip.
The left knee, which he wears a bandage to avoid problems during the efforts made in the middle of the game, could say ‘enough’ at any moment due to the heavy workload. Last season, the center back played 60 games between Real Madrid and his national team. He played over 5,000 minutes of action and had little rest during the holidays because of the European Championship. To that we must add the minutes he has played this season, already reaching 43 games between his club and his national team, accumulating more than 3,500 minutes.
Questioned against Real Betis
Real Madrid’s defeat against Real Betis made several things clear with regard to the back line. Ancelotti had some doubts about the defense ahead of the game at the Villamarín. In the end he opted to bench Asencio and pair Alaba and Rüdiger at the center back position. A pairing that, in view of the bandages, is not at the top of its game.
Rüdiger was one of the most criticized players against Real Betis. On SER radio, Javier Herrárez insisted that Rüdiger did not play the Betis game at one hundred percent physically, he looked limping. “Rüdiger doesn’t look sharp to me. He’s not 100% and it’s no joke,” the journalist said.
Saudi Arabia on the horizon
Rüdiger could leave Real Madrid in 2026 when his contract ends. What’s more, he is being very tempted by the route to Saudi Arabia. “Rüdiger is clear that he doesn’t want to rush his career in Europe too much. Now, he is seeing that he is pushing himself and he is having problems (…) In the dressing room, he has said that he would welcome a move to Saudi Arabia,” explains Rodra, a journalist for Relevo, on Iñaki Angulo’s Twitch channel. In this way, he would follow in the footsteps of players such as Karim Benzema and Nacho Fernández who, after Real Madrid, chose the Saudi Pro League.