Real Madrid’s injury nightmares are showing no signs of letting up as their latest spate of health issues have now made Bernd Schuster’s side the team with the most injuries in Spain and second in Europe only behind Chelsea.
Los Merengues have lost three key players to injuries over the past two weeks. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Fabio Cannavaro and the latest casualty, Gonzalo Higuaín have all added their names to the ever-busy infirmary, taking the club’s injury tally so far this season to 20.
The men in white have now suffered more ailments than any other team in La Liga, with Sevilla coming second on the list with 17, urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttag " />Barcelona with 13, Athletic Bilbao (12), Valencia (10) and Villarreal (6).
Even coach Bernd Schuster, ever so calm and composed over his future in recent weeks, is starting to get nervous with the latest crisis.
“This is worrisome and we have to change it. I don’t know what is happening but we cannot compete like this,” he said following the 1-0 win over Recreativo Huelva last Saturday.
Across Europe, only English Premier League table-toppers Chelsea have suffered more injuries with 26, followed by Manchester United in third place with 17, Juventus (15), Bayern Munich (13), Liverpool (12) and Inter Milan on 11, according to the data collected by Madrid-based sports journal, AS.
One of the main causes of Los Blancos’ injuries is due to the playing surface, in particular the one at their own backyard, the Santiago Bernabéu. Numerous players in the squad have already complained about the condition of the pitch in certain sections and Schuster himself has acknowledged this particular problem.
“Ninety percent of the injuries take place during matches. It is necessary to find out what is wrong.”
Inter Milan coach, José Mourinho has already taken action over the past month to cut down on unnecessary muscle-related injuries to his players, namely defender Christian Chivu and Chilean midfielder Luis Jiménez, by ordering the grass in their training field to be cut much shorter and constantly attended to.
The grounds-staff at the Bernabéu have already begun work to repair the patchy surfaces on the pitch, especially at the south end of the stadium.