Injuries to Brahim Díaz and Andriy Lunin left Real Madrid with just 10 available first-team players for Real Madrid’s crucial LaLiga game against Real Mallorca on Wednesday.
The match has little significance for Madrid but a loss means rivals Barcelona can claim the league title while a win for Mallorca puts them closer to securing a spot in the UEFA Conference League.
Goalkeeper Lunin suffered an injury to his right hand in training, Madrid said on Wednesday, while playmaker Díaz was diagnosed with a thigh problem.
Their withdrawals meant Madrid’s squad for Wednesday’s game at the Bernabéu contained just 10 players registered with the first team: Thibaut Courtois, Fran García, Federico Valverde, Jesús Vallejo, Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos, Arda Güler, Jude Bellingham, Endrick and Kylian Mbappé.
The remainder of the matchday squad was made up of players registered with Madrid’s reserve team, Castilla.
Spanish football federation rules state that a team must field at least seven players registered for the category in which the game takes place — in this case, the first team — at all times.
If the number of players were reduced to six or fewer, the referee would be obliged to suspend the game, with the offending team forfeiting the fixture for fielding an ineligible lineup.
Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Lucas Vázquez, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo are all out injured. Aurélien Tchouaméni is also ruled out due to the yellow card he picked up against Barcelona, which carries a suspension.
The injuries to Vinícius and Lucas Vázquez made Real Madrid’s problems clear on Monday, and the news arrived at the same time as Ancelotti confirmed his end-of-the-season departure to coach Brazil. Vinícius has a left ankle sprain while Vazquez has a left thigh injury.
Vinícius and Vázquez were both substituted during Madrid’s 4-3 Clásico defeat to Barcelona on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Rodrygo began Madrid’s training before indicating to Ancelotti and the team doctor that he was feeling some discomfort, and leaving the session early after just a few minutes.
“He [Rodrygo] had a fever last week, which prevented him from training well and returning to his best level,” Ancelotti said afterwards. “Today he felt some discomfort in his leg, which needs to be evaluated.
Sources have told ESPN that Madrid were finalising a deal for Xabi Alonso to become the club’s new coach at the end of the league season, replacing Ancelotti.
Alonso announced last week that he would be leaving Bayer Leverkusen after three successful seasons at the Bundesliga club.
