How will Real Madrid cope without Fede Valverde?
Real Madrid star Fede Valverde will be out of action for between one and two months after he suffered a fracture to his tibia in his right leg in the side’s heavy defeat against Valencia, the club confirmed.
Reports suggest the Uruguayan could miss up to two months of action, which could see him out for the remainder of the calendar year.
The 22-year-old has been in brilliant form so far this season, with three goals in eight games from central midfield one of the key highlights of an otherwise up-and-down start to 2020/21 for Los Blancos.
Which games will Valverde miss?
This injury would almost certainly rule him out for the remainder of the Champions League game, with three crucial games to come as Madrid sit third in Group B and on course to miss out on the knockout stages.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will travel to Italy to face Inter on matchday four after the international break before a trip to Ukraine against Shakhtar and a home clash with Borussia Monchengladbach completes the group stages.
Madrid have lost two of their last four in La Liga and the games won’t be getting any easier in the coming weeks, with Valverde’s absence sure to be felt in the centre of the pitch.
They go to Villarreal – who are flying in second place at the moment – after the international break before the following five games include Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and a Granada outfit relishing sitting in fifth.
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The Madrid derby is a poorly timed one from Real’s point of view, with Atletico now with four wins on the bounce and Zidane almost certainly set to be without one of his key players in Valverde.
How important is Fede Valverde to Real Madrid?
The No.15 has been doing it all for Madrid this season, with 1.3 successful tackles P90 along with 5.5 recoveries, 1.7 dribbles and 1.5 shots.
Zidane will be thankful the injury isn’t much worse, but after an awful result against Valencia at the weekend this is the last piece of news the Frenchman would have wanted to receive.
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The injury also comes as fellow midfielder Casemiro tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, as did Eden Hazard, and missed the defeat against Valencia but should be hopeful of a return in two weeks’ time.
Toni Kroos will be in line for a return to the starting lineup after two straight substitute appearances following a vintage performance in El Clasico.
For now, Valverde and Madrid will be looking to get back on the pitch as soon as possible with a string of important games coming up for Los Galacticos.