Real Madrid injury audit: Who has Carlo Ancelotti got left to choose from?

On the surface, you would not think much has gone wrong with Real Madrid this season: they are two points behind leaders Girona after 13 La Liga games and are comfortably top of their Champions League group.

But Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been hit by an injury crisis that has reduced them to 15 first-team players. The latest two casualties were midfielder Eduardo Camavinga and star forward Vinicius Junior, both of whom picked up injuries in the most recent international break that will keep them out until 2024.

With four days to go until Madrid visit Cadiz, Ancelotti has the worst kind of selection headache. So, who should he pick for Sunday’s game?

Here, we try and decide what his best starting XI might look like, with youth players highlighted in italics.

Goalkeepers

Injuries: Thibaut Courtois (anterior cruciate ligament), Kepa Arrizabalaga (thigh)

Available options: Andriy Lunin, Fran Gonzalez, Lucas Canizares, Diego Pineiro, Guillermo Sunico

We’re only a third of the way through the season, but Madrid have already had enough misfortune in this position to last them a few years. Courtois ruptured an ACL on the eve of the season and then his loan replacement, Arrizabalaga, suffered a thigh injury just before the international break.

Courtois is likely to be out until the end of the season and Arrizabalaga is expected to return after Sunday’s game against Cadiz but Lunin has grasped his opportunity with both hands.

The highlight has been Lunin’s saved penalty against Braga in the Champions League, a significant boost for a goalkeeper the coaching staff have doubted.

Lunin saves Alvaro Djalo’s penalty in the Champions League (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images).

While Madrid wait for Arrizabalaga to return, they have a long list of homegrown goalkeepers waiting for their chance on the bench. The first team’s training sessions regularly include Castilla’s (Real’s youthful B team) Pineiro and the under-19s’ Fran, who is especially appreciated by goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis.

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Ancelotti does not usually include Canizares — Castilla’s No 1 and son of former Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Santiago — in training, but the Italian has acknowledged he could be another option.

Sunico, who plays for Madrid’s C team, has also been training with the senior side.

Full-back

Injuries: Eduardo Camavinga (knee)

Available options: Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Ferland Mendy, Fran Garcia, Nacho Fernandez

This is the position least affected by injuries, but first-choice full-backs Carvajal and Mendy have suffered from muscular injuries this season. Mendy even came close to being injured for a second time in Madrid’s 2-1 win against Barcelona in Montjuic last month but was substituted as a precaution when he felt some muscular discomfort.

Mendy missed 23 games through muscular injuries last season, according to Transfermarkt, and Madrid’s head coach will hope he can build up a decent run of games without being absent again. He has the upper hand on Garcia defensively, with the summer signing having struggled in Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 diamond system.

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At right-back, Carvajal is the only trusted option. Vazquez has committed some high-profile errors when called upon, such as in Real’s 3-1 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid in September and when he conceded a penalty against Braga.

Nacho is Ancelotti’s wild card who could be used if needed on either flank if he is not used at centre-back, his natural position. Camavinga, who has regularly filled in at left-back, is also out with a knee problem.

Centre-back

Injuries: Eder Militao (ACL)

Available options: Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Nacho

Just three days after Courtois tore his ACL in August, Militao suffered the same injury after being forced off during a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on the opening weekend of the season. The club estimate he will be out of action until April.

Despite the transfer window still being open, Madrid decided not to go back into the market. Rudiger has become a mainstay, with the most minutes played of any player (1,390 in all competitions).

Rudiger has been a key player (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images).

But there has been a debate over who should partner him. Alaba has tended to play alongside him but the 31-year-old’s inconsistent displays have opened the door for Nacho. It would not be surprising if the Spaniard were to start against Cadiz, having played the full 90 minutes of Madrid’s last two games before the international break.

Despite receiving encouraging reports about the 18-year-old Castilla centre-back Jacobo Ramon, Ancelotti has preferred to call up his more experienced team-mates Edgar Pujol and Alvaro Carrillo in training sessions. None of them have played for the first team, however, with the Italian preferring to use midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni as an emergency substitute when he is fit.

Midfield

Injuries: Tchouameni (foot), Camavinga (knee), Jude Bellingham (shoulder), Arda Guler (muscular problems)

Available options: Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Brahim Diaz, Dani Ceballos, Nico Paz, Mario Martin

At the start of the season, this was Madrid’s best-stocked position — so much so that Ancelotti switched from his favoured 4-3-3 system to accommodate the first team’s eight central midfielders (Bellingham, Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Ceballos and Guler).

A few months later and Madrid are down to their bare bones. Having started the season trying to move away from the Kroos-Modric midfield axis, Ancelotti has now had to turn back to that trusted duo.

That partnership is expected to last at least another three weeks, when Tchouameni should return from the stress fracture he suffered in his left foot during El Clasico. The most optimistic diagnosis for the Frenchman was that he would be back within six weeks and we are halfway through that timeline.

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Madrid fans will have to wait longer for the return of Camavinga, who is likely to be out for eight to 10 weeks.

That means Valverde’s role will take on even more importance in defence and attack. Ceballos has only played 73 minutes this season and is the other option available but he is far from a regular starter — meaning homegrown players such as Martin are likely to be called up.

Ancelotti will have to turn to Modric, left, and Kroos, right, again (Matteo Ciambelli / DeFodi Images via Getty Images).

Ancelotti’s choice for the three players at the base of midfield is clear, with Kroos, Valverde and Modric expected to start there, but the question is who replaces Bellingham at the tip of the diamond. Madrid’s top scorer with 13 goals this season will be a huge miss.

Bellingham and the usual second-choice option in that position, Brahim, are suffering from similar shoulder injuries. Bellingham dislocated his shoulder in this month’s goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano and is still not part of full training. Brahim is more likely to be available for Sunday.

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Then there is Guler, whose debut has twice been delayed by muscle injuries after a meniscus problem when he first arrived from Fenerbahce this summer. The club expect him to return in a month but acknowledge the Turkish midfielder is going through a difficult situation.

The midfield dilemma has led to Ancelotti calling up Paz, a 19-year-old Argentina Under-20 international, from the youth team — and while Madrid’s head coach does not tend to use inexperienced teenagers, he may not have a choice if the injuries continue to pile up.

Wide forward/striker

Injuries: Vinicius Jr (thigh)

Available options: Rodrygo, Joselu, Alvaro Rodriguez, Gonzalo Garcia

Partly because of the club’s lack of planning and partly because of the team’s new formation, Madrid already had limited options in attack before Vinicius Jr’s thigh injury while with Brazil last week.

The 23-year-old is expected to be out for around 10 weeks, which is even more worrying given he had already been injured this season. A muscle problem kept him out of the team for just over a month at the start of the season and he had just been starting to get back to his best form, with three goals in his last two games.

Rodrygo and Joselu will have to step up in his place. Rodrygo, 22, has the confidence of the club and the coaching staff but must now become a reference point in attack and increase his goalscoring contribution. He has provided five goals and four assists from 17 appearances this season.

Joselu has scored some important goals this season (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images).

Joselu, meanwhile, will be expected to lead the line with him as a pure No 9. Despite having played 400 minutes fewer than Rodrygo, the striker has five goals and two assists.

“I’m happy with the number of goals, you can always contribute more, but I’m happy that most of the goals I’ve scored have been for the team to gain points,” he said during the international break in an interview with Spanish radio station Cope.

But Ancelotti has two in-house alternatives: Alvaro and Gonzalo.

Both play for Castilla — Alvaro made his debut last season and scored in a 1-1 draw against Atletico, but Gonzalo has taken a step forward and has been included in Ancelotti’s squad three times this season. Alvaro has yet to feature this season after eight appearances last term, but Ancelotti praised him before El Clasico when he spoke about the quality in Madrid’s academy.

The strongest available XI

If none of the injured players return early, this would be The Athletic’s starting XI against Cadiz on Sunday…

When you consider Madrid are missing six of their usual starters — Courtois, Militao, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Bellingham and Vinicius Jr — it could be better.

That is why the club were fearful of more injuries as the international break came to an end this week. “Fingers crossed that nothing happens today to Luka, Feder, Rodrygo, Rudiger and Alaba,” a Real spokesperson told The Athletic on Tuesday. “That’s how much we have left over.”

That is why anger and frustration have been the overwhelming feelings at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground after another costly international break. But they must make the most of a bad situation, starting on Sunday.

(Top photos: Getty Images)