Real Madrid's coach Zinedine Zidane will have to work his magic once more with Los Blancos, as one of his new signings will not be around for a crucial week that will see them face Osasuna and their bitter-rivals, Atlético Madrid.
Speaking in today's pre-match presser ahead of the clash against Los Rojillos, Zidane revealed that a new muscular injury has hit Ferland Mendy, which will cause his compatriot to miss both of the upcoming games mentioned above.
Mendy showed glimpses of why Real Madrid paid over $45M for his services to Olympique Lyon due to Marcelo's injury, and now, his absence will create one more problem for Zizou right after a crucial win at Sevilla.
Zidane admitted that the numerous injuries picked up by his players can't be blamed on his new physio, Gregory Dupont, and urged FIFA and the Spanish league to take action to lower the amount of games each footballer has to play.
"I'm not worried, but I'm upset about it. It's one side of football we can't predict. We have great people looking after all our players, but some of them never get some rest. We have seven games in 21 days, and before that, they went to play with their national teams. Next week, they will be doing the same," Zidane said.
The coach admitted that even if he plans ahead to give his players some time off, the amount of games being played nowadays contributes to see top-caliber footballers picking up injuries regardless of how much time they can rest.
"I used to play 45 games, and now some teams play over 60. It's almost two seasons crammed into one. We plan when each player should rest, and we have people looking after them, but sometimes it's not enough. People have to understand that a footballer is not a machine," Zidane concluded.
Speaking about Mendy, the player's injury could see him miss the upcoming international break, but he should be fit to play once La Liga goes back to action.
