Just in: Real Madrid defender ruled out of Girona clash | OneFootball

Real Madrid will face off against Girona later tonight at Estadi Montilivi, knowing that they must get back to winning ways in La Liga in order to reclaim the top spot in the standings.

Ahead of the trip to Catalonia, the Merengues have been greeted by some good news on the injury front as Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and Franco Mastantuono are all back, as confirmed by manager Xabi Alonso on Saturday.

However, Real Madrid were sweating over the availability of Raul Asencio, who did not train with the team yesterday, due to gastroenteritis.

During his press conference, Xabi Alonso was hopeful that the defender might still make it to the squad for the trip to Girona.

Asencio ruled out

However, now, according to journalist Miguel Angel Diaz of COPE, Asencio will not be travelling with the rest of the squad and is ruled out of the match.

Asencio out. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Speaking about the academy graduate’s condition on Saturday, Alonso had said: “We have indeed recovered Rudiger and Militao, we hope Asencio can be included in the squad, Dean not yet and Franco is also included in the squad.”

However, that is not how things have turned out for Real Madrid as Asencio will not be available for selection against Michel’s team today.

Who will step in?

This will be a concern for Alonso, given that Dean Huijsen and David Alaba are also not available and both Militao and Rudiger are returning from injuries.

So, it will be interesting to see how the manager approaches the situation and whether he throws in both Militao and Rudiger into the lineup or pairs one of them with Alvaro Carreras, who played as a makeshift centre-back against Olympiacos in midweek.

Aurelien Tchouameni is also an option to play at the heart of the defence for Real Madrid.