Real Madrid down to the bare bones for Elche clash as defender drops out of squad

Real Madrid have a number of players that are currently unavailable due to injury, and one more name has been added to the list in the last few hours. Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Alvaro Carreras, Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo Goes and Kylian Mbappe were already ruled out for the Bernabeu clash on Saturday, and they have now been joined by Raul Asencio.

Asencio, who was an unused substitute against Manchester City in midweek, had been due to start against Elche, but this will no longer be the case. Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has not included him in his matchday squad for the La Liga fixture, which has meant that only six defenders have been named.

Asencio suffering with muscle discomfort

According to COPE’s Miguel Angel Diaz, Asencio has been ruled out due to muscle discomfort. Real Madrid’s medical staff have ruled that the 23-year-old is not able to play any part against Elche, which is bad news for Arbeloa – particular in the sense that he will have to continue with Dean Huijsen and Antonio Rudiger in the centre of defence, when he would have preferred to rest one of them.

Real Madrid will hope that Asencio is able to recover in time to travel to Manchester at the start of next week for the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Man City. He would be unlikely to start at the Etihad Stadium, but he may be needed if Huijsen or Rudiger were not to be at 100% themselves, which could be very possible after another 90 minutes against Elche.

Arbeloa will be desperate for his injured players to start returning sooner rather than later. Real Madrid have certainly be affected by these regular setbacks over the course of the season, but unfortunately, they show no signs of stopping.