Eder Militão suffered a torn ACL and his injury troubles worsened when Rodrygo and Lucas Vazquez were substituted in the first half of Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday.
Sources told ESPN that Militao is expected to be out for nine months, while Rodrigo and Vazquez face three to four weeks out.
Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham scored his first goal of the season for Madrid, but their victory was marred by triple injuries to Militao, Rodrigo and Vázquez.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti said in the post-match press conference, “It was a good game. We controlled it well from the beginning.” “The team has been in good form since we took the lead. It’s unfortunate that they got injured in the first half. We’re evaluating them now and we’ll see.”
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“It’s quite strange that we had three injuries in the first half. The calendar is tough and we don’t give the players any rest. The players come into the game tired, so the risk of injury is higher.”
Forward Rodrygo, who had just returned to the team after recovering from a hamstring problem, was sent off in the 20th minute against the Bernabéu and was replaced by Brahim Dias.
Center back Militao required treatment after 10 minutes and was carried off on a stretcher, replaced by youngster Raul Asensio.
Madrid confirmed in a statement late Saturday that Militao had torn his left anterior cruciate ligament and is scheduled to undergo surgery within the next few days. The Brazil international missed most of last season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the same foot. This is the fourth Madrid player to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the past year, with Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba also suffering tears.
Full-back Vazquez was withdrawn at half-time and Luka Modric was introduced in his place.
Madrid is lacking in defense, with Dani Carvajal out for the season due to a serious injury and Alaba still not fully recovered.
Also absent are goalkeeper Courtois, who has a thigh injury, and midfielder Aurélien Choameny, who occasionally substitutes at the back, with a sprained ankle.
“I have to thank the academy for the job they did (with Asensio),” Ancelotti said. “He is the player we need at the moment…Raul has done well with (reserve team) Castilla and will be with us from now on.”
Ancelotti did not say whether a series of injuries had increased the likelihood of a January reinforcement.
“We will evaluate it in the coming months,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do at the moment. We’ll see what we can do in January.”
Asked about the club’s injury problems after the match, Diaz said: “I don’t want to talk about it because it hurts to see my teammates crying.”
“It’s heartbreaking. They’ve come back from a long injury and now it’s their turn. It’s going to be longer than usual for them.”
Madrid went into the match against Osasuna feeling under pressure, having lost their last two games at home to Barcelona and AC Milan.
They will now have two weeks off, returning to action against Leganes on November 24th before heading to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Champions League on November 27th.
Saturday’s victory leaves Madrid six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, who play on Sunday.
