Real Madrid face injury crisis ahead of Manchester City clash in UEFA Champions League last-16 play-off tie | OneFootball

Manchester City’s injury problems this season could be matched by their competition for the last-16 play-off round as Real Madrid battle their own issues.

Pep Guardiola and his players were issued with a mammoth test in the next round of Europe’s premier club competition, as a direct result of their surprise finish in 22nd position following eight league phase fixtures.

City were on the verge of heading out of the tournament entirely as they took on Club Brugge on the final matchday of the league phase, with the Belgian side leading at half-time at the Etihad Stadium only to concede three goals without reply to the home side.

That left Manchester City with the possibility of drawing either 11th-place Real Madrid or 12th-place Bayern Munich, with the draw procedure confirming that it would be the fourth consecutive season that the Spanish and English sides would go head-to-head.

While many City supporters have been hugely concerned by the prospect of facing the Madrid club, largely as a result of form throughout the campaign, injury blows throughout Carlo Ancelotti’s squad may even up the playing field significantly.

As confirmed throughout the week and with Real Madrid manager Ancelotti facing the media on Tuesday, a long list of injury and fitness problems have emerged for Los Blancos with a two-legged meeting against Manchester City looming.

David Alaba was spotted limping out of training on Monday and is now expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks with a muscle injury. That would mean the Austrian is almost certain to miss the first-leg tie at the Etihad Stadium next Tuesday.

The defender is also seen as a major doubt for the return match in the Spanish capital against Manchester City on February 19, as Real Madrid remain without Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal due to serious knee injuries in 2024.

Additionally, ever-present centre-back Antonio Rudiger had to be replaced during Saturday’s defeat against Espanyol due to a hamstring problem, meaning he would be expected to miss both legs of the last-16 play-off tie with the Premier League champions.

Speaking during a pre-match press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey quarter-final tie against Leganes, Carlo Ancelotti told reporters, “We have lost two important players.

“(David) Alaba was ready to start tomorrow. (Antonio) Rüdiger and Alaba’s injuries were not contemplated. This is an emergency situation. They will return in 20 days.”

Discussing potential options to come in and form a defensive unit for the upcoming matches, Ancelotti ruled out Federico Valverde from the equation as he said, “He will play as full-back. The options are Jacobo (Ramon), (Raul) Asencio and (Aurélien) Tchouaméni.”

The concerns do not stop there however, with attacking injury and fitness problems hampering the squad. “(Jude) Bellingham has suffered a knock and will not play tomorrow (against Leganes),” Ancelotti revealed. “(Kylian) Mbappé is out. He has a bruise in his calf.”

From the side of Manchester City, they are expected to welcome in Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, and Omar Marmoush into their UEFA Champions League squad list for the knock-out stages, as the deadline for alterations looms on Thursday evening.

Rodri could also make a return to the squad as Pep Guardiola remains hopeful of the Spaniard returning to action earlier than anticipated, and the club preparing themselves for the possibility of the Ballon d’Or winner recovering for the tail-end of the tournament this season.