Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and center back Dean Huijsen will not play in Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Olympiacos.
The Spanish giants confirmed Courtois is dealing with a gastrointestinal viral infection and will not make the trip to Greece—Andriy Lunin is in line to get his first start this season with the Belgian sidelined.
Huijsen’s situation is a bit more tenuous. Real did not specify why the Spaniard was left out of Xabi Alonso’s squad, but he missed training on Tuesday and will stay back in Madrid to undergo further medical testing, per The Athletic.
The 20-year-old was forced to withdraw from international duty last week due to muscle discomfort, but he then played 90 minutes in Real Madrid’s 2–2 draw with Elche on Sunday, scoring his first goal in a white shirt.
Now, Los Blancos will be sweating over the fitness of the former Bournemouth man with games against Girona, Athletic Club, Celta Vigo and Manchester City coming in the next two weeks.
Injuries Wreaking Havoc on Real Madrid
The addition of Huijsen to the infirmary comes at a particularly cruel time for Real Madrid. With Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba already out, Alonso now has just one available center back for the club’s Champions League clash with Olympiacos on Wednesday evening: Raúl Asencio.
Even emergency center back Dani Carvajal is also injured, likely forcing Alonso to deploy natural midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni alongside Asencio. Álvaro Carreras or Ferland Mendy are also options, though the Frenchman has not played a single minute since April.
Along with the defensive injury crisis, Los Blancos are also without Franco Mastantuono, who is still nursing a groin injury. When factoring in the sick Courtois, Alonso is without seven players for the trip to Greece.
Even without so many of his starters, the former Bayer Leverkusen boss will be expected to lead Real Madrid back to winning ways; the 15-time Champions League winners have dropped points in their last three matches, putting the pressure on Alonso—who came under fire for bizarre tactical decisions against Elche—to find solutions.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Suffer New Double Blow, Without Seven for Champions League Clash.
