A year to forget for injury-prone Real Madrid defender – More than 200 days out in 2025 | OneFootball

Ferland Mendy is the latest Real Madrid player to pick up an injury before the end of the year, as he picked up a hamstring problem just a week after returning to action.

Indeed, Mendy’s comeback against Olympiacos was supposed to mark a turning point. It was the first time he had played under Xabi Alonso after six months on the sidelines.

There was even optimism surrounding his defensive performance. But all of that excitement vanished when it was revealed that the defender has picked up an injury, yet again.

A year of injuries for Mendy

This latest setback is the final chapter in a year that can only be described as a frustrating year for Mendy.

A muscle injury sidelined him in March, ruling him out for nine games. The French superstar returned to action for the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in April, but another injury in the game limited his return to just eight minutes. It was his fourth injury of the 2024/25 campaign.

Mendy’s woeful injury record at Real Madrid (Courtesy: Transfermarkt).

Mendy had a a proximal tendon rupture that needed him to undergo surgery kept him away from group training for 169 days.

He didn’t return until mid-October, and it took another month for him to see match action in Athens.

Now, the new injury confirms Mendy will not play again until 2026. He will miss crucial fixtures against Celta Vigo, Manchester City, Alaves, and Sevilla.

Real Madrid, though, are all too familiar with the Mendy ordeal. The player, in fact, has picked up way too many injuries than one can count since joining Real Madrid.

Four injuries across last season, two months out with a major injury the season before that, his absence is not new.

Furthermore, in the 2022/23 campaign, the left-back missed more than three months of action due to a muscle problem. The season before, he was out for a total of five times, although the total number of days sidelined was much lower than in the 2022/23 season.

Carlo Ancelotti trusted him a great deal, and it appears that Xabi Alonso does too. But his injury record makes Mendy a major liability for Real Madrid.