Topics: Real Madrid, La Liga, Pepe, Sporting Gijon
Real Madrid announced the defender had suffered a muscular injury in his right leg. No specific timeframe to return was set.

When Real Madrid opens its 2015-2016 La Liga season, they will most likely be missing Pepe in the starting lineup. The Portuguese defender was evaluated by Madrid's medical staff and is said to have suffered a muscle injury in his right leg. 

"A medical examination on the player in the Universitario Sanitas La Moraleja hospital has shown that he has a muscle injury in his right leg. His progress will be closely monitored," was what was read in a statement released by the club. 

Pepe adds his name to an important list of players already injured before the season even starts. Rafa Benitez could not count on Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Audi Cup, while Gareth Bale sat out in the final as a precautionary measure according to Madrid's new manager.

Los Merengues have won all but two games this pre-season. They will wrap things up this weekend against Valerenga on Sunday before moving on with their La Liga duties on the road facing Sporting Gijon, a team that just got promoted to Spain's top league.

There are only estimates of to when Pepe could be back in action

Pepe had played only 16 minutes of the game against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Problems on his thigh made him step out way ahead of time and is expected to be back by the time Real Madrid faces Betis in the second week of action. Luka Modric, Asier Illarramendi and Fabio Coentrao are also dealing with injuries.

The good news about this is that with Pepe, 32, being injured, the need to keep Sergio Ramos is really important, so now Florentino Perez and his team will do everything possible to keep the Spanish-international with them.