Absent from the squad for the last three Real Madrid matches, Federico Valverde is complicating matters for Carlo Ancelotti. Before the crucial clash against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, the news is not good.
Real Madrid is coming off a painful defeat to Betis in La Liga. Travelling to Seville for the 26th matchday of La Liga, Carlo Ancelotti and his men struggled. With the absences of Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos, and especially Federico Valverde, the Madrid team suffered. At the end of Saturday’s match, Real Madrid logically lost 2-1 with disastrous performances from David Alaba and also Lucas Vazquez, who disappointed on the right side of the defence. While the Madrid coach calmly announced that Valverde would be back for the duel against Atlético Madrid next Tuesday, things are far from straightforward.
Valverde still absent from training
Back in Madrid, the players had a training session this Sunday to prepare for the Champions League round of 16 clash. Highly anticipated for this match, Federico Valverde did not train with the group. Still troubled by an adductor problem that has kept him off the pitch for three matches, the solid Uruguayan player trained alone this Sunday. According to AS, it is not certain that the 26-year-old will be able to return to the squad that will face the Colchoneros.
With the dense schedule of the Madrid team, Carlo Ancelotti will hope things improve for his player by Monday. If he still can’t train with the group, Federico Valverde will not be able to play against Atlético, which would be a severe blow for the Madrid side. Considering the disastrous performance of Vazquez against Betis this weekend in the championship, one must truly tremble if number 8 Merengue does not recover from his adductor problem.
What solution for Carlo Ancelotti?
The player most used by Carlo Ancelotti since last year, Federico Valverde, is undoubtedly suffering the consequences of his excessive use. Consecutively, the Uruguayan captain has played 41 matches with Real Madrid: an infernal rhythm that is not ideal for a top-level professional. Very important in the system, the native of Montevideo had to grit his teeth to play against Manchester City in the Champions League playoff. With the adductor problem for weeks, he played as a right-back against the Citizens under painkillers.
Given the urgent situation of the team, perhaps the medical staff will try to prepare him especially to play against Atlético Madrid next Tuesday. To do this, he would need to take painkillers again. If Carlo Ancelotti refuses to take the risk of playing Federico Valverde if he is not completely healed, perhaps Raul Asensio will be pushed to the right side instead of Lucas Vazquez. In this case, a defensive pair of Antonio Rudiger – Aurélien Tchouaméni would be needed since David Alaba has shown sufficiently that he is not ready to play big matches. To be continued.
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