Antonio Rüdiger has suffered a thigh injury, Real Madrid confirmed on Saturday, leaving the LaLiga giants without any fit centre-backs for their top-of-the-table clash with Girona, and ahead of their return to Champions League action next week.
Madrid host Girona at the Bernabéu on Saturday with just two points separating the two teams at the top of LaLiga, before they travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.
– Stream LIVE: Real Madrid vs Girona at 12:30 p.m. E.T. on ESPN+ (U.S.)
The league leaders are already without first-choice defensive pairing Éder Militão and David Alaba, who suffered ACL tears in August and December respectively, while Nacho Fernandez is unavailable with a muscle strain.
“Following tests carried out today on our player Antonio Rudiger by Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the vastus lateralis of the left thigh,” Madrid said on Saturday in a statement. “His progress is pending.”
Rudiger was hurt in a challenge with Getafe forward Mason Greenwood on Feb. 1, although the issue was initially dismissed as a knock.
