JUST IN: Setback for Real Madrid as Key Midfielder Sidelined for Three Weeks

Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is expected to miss at least three weeks due to a thigh strain sustained against Liverpool on Tuesday.

Tchouameni played the full 90 minutes at Anfield as Madrid went down 1-0 but complained after the game of soreness in his left leg.

Further tests have revealed an injury to the semitendinosus muscle and he now requires a period of rest.
Tchouameni to miss Vallecas clash

He will not be available for this weekend’s trip across town to Rayo Vallecano, nor the clash with Elche on November 23. His name was also absent from the 24-man list named by France boss Didier Deschamps this afternoon for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan over the next fortnight.

The hope is he will be fit for Madrid’s Champions League clash at Olympiacos on November 26 or, if not, the game at Girona four days later.

The injury could’ve come at a worse time given the fixture list but it still represents a blow for Madrid boss Xabi Alonso, who has relied on Tchouameni to occupy the space in front of the back four.

He has done so with aplomb and arguably one of the team’s better players so far this season.

Tchouameni’s role is likely to go to fellow Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga although Dani Ceballos may be given more game time.
Valverde okay after Anfield scare

In better news for Alonso, midfielder Federico Valverde, who has been filling in at right-back, has escaped injury after coming off late on against Liverpool.

There were fears he had also suffered a muscular injury but he has been given the all-clear.