Real Madrid secured a fantastic 3-0 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, but it wasn’t a perfect evening for Alvaro Arbeloa.
He was already without the likes of Alvaro Carreras, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe for the clash at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and now it seems another problem has emerged.
Carrera’s absence meant Ferland Mendy started for the second game in a row, but after playing 90 minutes in Friday’s win over Celta Vigo, his body couldn’t handle the pace during the first half of the match against City.
He was forced to leave the game at halftime, with Fran Garcia replacing him for the remaining minutes.
Arbeloa confirmed that Mendy’s injury “doesn’t look good”, which could mean another spell on the sidelines for the hapless defender.
According to Guillermo Rai, Real Madrid will subject him to medical tests on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury and whether it will be a long absence.
What is certain is that Mendy will not be available against Elches this weekend, which would leave Fran Garcia as the only left-back available for Real Madrid.
Arbeloa has chosen not to regularly rely on players who came out of La Fabrica since he took charge of the team, especially compared to his predecessor Xabi Alonso.