Real Madrid may have walked away from the Bernabeu with a 3-0 win over Atlético, but their victory was handed a bittersweet flavor hours later, as Dani Carvajal came down with a hamstring injury in the first half of Tuesday's clash.
The team's website revealed that Carvajal will undergo a new battery of tests to determine the extent of the injury, which usually takes from two to four weeks to heal. With that in mind, Zinedine Zidane won't have the player around for the rest of La Liga's games. Carvajal would be available for the UEFA Champions League final set for June 3, if Los Blancos can finish off Atlético next week.
Los Blancos still have four games left in the domestic competition, starting this Saturday against the already relegated side Granada.
With Carvajal's injury, Zidane will be forced to use either Nacho or Danilo as the Spaniard's replacements. The Brazilian right back's option is by far the riskiest Zidane could take, as the former Porto footballer has shown rather disappointing performances whenever he's been on the pitch. Nacho has been used frequently as a center back, but he's quite familiar with that position, as he showed on Tuesday against Atlético.
Real Madrid's stats when Carvajal doesn't play
Shockingly enough, Los Blancos don't seem to miss Carvajal whenever he's been unavailable. According to stats published by Marca, the right back has missed 12 games between La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, with Real Madrid winning every single one of them. The team's woes without Carvajal came in the Copa del Rey, when the right back missed both games against Celta and saw how their team-mates lost the quarter final tie against Los Celestes due to a loss at the Bernabeu and a draw at Balaídos.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
