Things are going from bad to worse this season for Real Madrid, who were already reeling from an injury to their talisman, Jude Bellingham.
The Englishman is expected to be out for another few weeks at least, and with La Liga rivals, Barcelona, already four points ahead of them after just three games, the last thing Carlo Ancelotti needed was more injury concerns to deal with.
According to CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, all of Dani Ceballos, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni are injured, with perhaps the only saving grace being that for the next couple of weeks there’s an international break.
In exactly two week’s time, Los Blancos play Stuttgart in the opening match of their defence of the Champions League, and it remains to be seen just how many fit first-team players Ancelotti will have at his disposal.
The club can ill afford to lose too many more at this important stage of the campaign, given that allowing Barca a ‘head start’ in the league may be a situation that they’re unable to claw back.
Of all of the absentees, it’s clear that Bellingham’s time on the sidelines will be the most keenly felt for the simple fact that his impact and presence in the side appears to unsettle opposition teams as much as playing up against speedsters, Vini Jr. and Kylian Mbappe.
Never one to panic, Ancelotti will almost certainly have a plan to steer his side through some choppy waters and still keep them competitive for the next few weeks.
As the players begin to return one by one and Real Madrid regain their shape and strength, the Italian can then start to push on and chase down the Blaugranes at the summit of the Spanish top-flight.