Real Madrid have been dealt with a huge injury blow ahead of their crucial Champions League round of 16 clash against Liverpool. The two sides are due to meet in a repeat from last season’s final over a double-legged affair. And just couple of days before their trip to Anfield for the first leg, it has been revealed that midfielders Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni will miss Real Madrid’s matchup with Liverpool.
The first leg of Liverpool and Real Madrid’s last-16 matchup takes place on Tuesday at Anfield, and it promises to be a potential season-defining tie for both the sides. Despite having a terrible season so far, Jurgen Klopp’s team has just had a mini-resurgence after picking up two key victories over Merseyside rivals Everton and top-four contenders Newcastle United.
Carlo Ancelotti with headache to fill the void created by Real Madrid duo
While Liverpool have had been going through a horrible season since its start, Real Madrid too are facing a similar timeline in recent games. Despite their triumph in the Club World Cup, the Los Blancos have dropped important points in the La Liga in recent games which has opened an eight-point gap between them and leaders Barcelona. They now focus on the biggest competition in Europe, of which they are reigning and 14-time holders.
The absence of Kroos and Tchouameni have only added to manager Carlo Ancelotti’s worries as he tries to shape up his midfield for the game at Anfield. However, there’s some relief for the Italian, as his main-man and captain Karim Benzema is available to face the Reds after missing his side’s last game against Osasuna. Updating on the Los Blancos’ injuries, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed:
“Aurelien Tchouameni and Toni Kroos will miss #UCL game vs Liverpool. Karim Benzema, available — travels with the squad.”
While Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde and Dani Ceballos are all available at Ancelotti’s disposal, he will certainly miss Kroos and Tchouameni who are reportedly out with illness and miss the trip to England. On the other hand, Liverpool too have taken a significant hit as the heavyweight Champions League showdown approaches.
The Premier League giants have their own injury issues to deal with as club record signing Darwin Nunez is a doubt for the game. Nunez has apparently suffered a shoulder knock after landing heavily on it at St James’ Park during his side’s 2-0 win over the Magpies. Klopp revealed about the striker’s availability:
“The bad news is Darwin has something on his shoulder. We will see. In that situation I don’t know what [the referee] whistled against him, to be honest. In the end, he had to go off with a shoulder issue. We need further assessment. I don’t know in the moment. In the moment is it painful, but hopefully it’s just painful and not more.”
While there’s some ray of hope for Liverpool too with attacker duo Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino back from their respective injuries and fit to face Real Madrid, there are other significant absentees as well. The likes of Luis Diaz, Calvin Ramsay and Arthur Melo are yet to recover and hence will be out when Liverpool welcome Real at Anfield this week.