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Ancelotti saw two of his most important players get injured in the same match
Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti has blamed the injuries to first-team regulars Karim Benzema and Eder Militao on the fixture congestion that Madrid have had to deal with this season.
Real Madrid only just welcomed back Aurelin Tchouameni and Dani Carvajal from lengthy injury layoffs, but have now lost two more key players as the season gets into the final stages.
Militao and Benzema injured against Valencia
Eder Militao was taken off just after the half-hour mark in Real’s win over Valencia, while Benzema joined him off the pitch on the hour mark after assisting both of Madrid’s goals in the 2-0 win.
Benzema’s injury looked especially worrying at the time, with the 35-year-old Frenchman, who has already had some spells on the sidelines, clutching his hamstring as he made his way off the pitch.
However, Ancelotti has calmed fears around Benzema’s potential absence, saying that he fears the injury to Militao is worse than the injury to Benzema, while blaming both incidents on Madrid having to play so often without any breaks.
Speaking after Madrid’s win, he said, “It seems that Militao is not going to make it for Sunday. The Benzema thing seems milder, as a precaution.
“It is what happens when you play every three days without time to recover."
Irreplaceable Benzema injured at the worst possible time
Militao’s injury is concerning, but an injury to Benzema would be seen as the bigger blow, with the team failing to win four of the nine games that Benzema has missed out on through injury this season, including two in four La Liga games when he was injured just before the World Cup.
While Nacho Fernandez and Antonio Rudiger can provide cover for Real Madrid at centre-back, there appears to be no real replacement for Benzema as Mariano Diaz is the only natural centre-forward left in the senior team.
With a UEFA Champions League double-header against Liverpool coming in the next few weeks, Madrid will be hoping to have their talismanic captain back in time to face the Reds.
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