Real Madrid’s dressing room suffers from COVID-19 outbreak; six confirmed casualties so far

The eleven head of Real Madrid turns upside down before the outbreak of COVID-19 that the white wardrobe suffers. Between Wednesday and this Thursday, Madrid has reported seven positive cases in its first team: Modric, Marcelo, Lunin (who repeats, was already infected months ago), Bale, Rodrygo, Asensio and the assistant coach, Davide Ancelotti. Therefore, Carletto he will not be able to count on six footballers from the first team; he will have to make do with the other 19 for the duels against Cádiz and Athletic, on 19 and 22 respectively.

They are not the only casualties Ancelotti has; Nor can he count, for the moment, on Carvajal, with muscular discomfort, or Ceballos, in the final stretch of his recovery. And in the white club there is nervousness about what the tests that are done in the following days can throw up, because Lunin, Bale, Rodrygo and Asensio exercised with their teammates on Wednesday, at a time when they could already be contagious , so new positives are not ruled out.

That these six players will miss the duel against Cádiz this Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium is certain; there is no physical time for them to get over the illness before grief. It is very difficult for them to get to Athletic, although not impossible. If someone tests negative before the match on the 22nd in San Mamés and he can exercise normally, he would have options.

In this matter, the Community of Madrid created some confusion in the last hours. Antonio Zapatero, Deputy Minister of Public Health, commented in the Cadena COPE that the protocol stated that the positives had to be confined for 10 days, even if they were negative in a PCR test. But his superior, the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, explained in Radio Brand that, as they are players with the double vaccination schedule, they will be able to lose their definition without problems after obtaining a negative PCR test.

At the moment and with the known positives, Ancelotti’s problems go through two points: the midfield and the far right of the attack. Also the right side, where Carvajal is injured, but there it counts Carletto with the option of Lucas Vázquez and also with Nacho, as well as Santos and Marvin, from Real Madrid Castilla.

Valverde, Camavinga, Lucas, Hazard…

In the center of the field, the absence of Modric will break the medullary trident that he forms with Casemiro and Kroos, fundamental in the winning streak. Valverde and Camavinga are the main candidates to replace the Croatian, with the Uruguayan one point above the Franco-Angolan; Isco can also enter there, but it is difficult for him, because since he refused to continue warming up in Granada, he has not had minutes again.

And in attack, it remains to be seen who will accompany Vinicius and Benzema, and there now Ancelotti has a shortage of resources: Asensio and Rodrygo were fighting for the position, with good performances by both, and Bale also had possibilities of start to play. But none of the three will be available, so everything indicates that they will have to play Lucas Vázquez or Hazard. The first would do it if he is not aligned as a right back; the second would change bands, because he knows that with Vinicius it is difficult for him right now. But Ancelotti does not have more right now, it is that or moving Benzema to a band to introduce Jovic at the top of the attack, something that seems very strange right now, with the French performing at the level that this course leads as the spearhead of the white team. (D)