Real Madrid Faces Injury Concerns Ahead of Malaga Clash
Real Madrid’s final training session before Sunday’s La Liga clash with Malaga came with a worrying sight: a cluster of first‑team players nowhere near the main group.
Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Raul Asencio, Aurelien Tchouameni, Thiago Pitarch, Rodrygo and Endrick all sat out the main workout on Saturday as the league leaders fine‑tuned preparations for the third round of the season.
Seven absentees. One clear message: the medical staff are calling the shots right now.
Militao and Endrick step up, but away from the group
Not everyone was confined to the treatment room. On a secondary pitch beside the main training ground, Militao and Endrick pushed through a more advanced phase of their recovery.
The pair went through a series of physical drills, building rhythm and strength, before moving on to ball work. No contact, no full‑scale game scenarios, but an important step for two players Real Madrid expect to lean on heavily as the campaign unfolds.
The rest of the injured group continued to follow their individual programmes, kept at arm’s length from the intensity of a full session on the eve of a league game.
Tchouameni held back despite his own urgency
Aurelien Tchouameni’s name on the absentee list drew particular attention. His situation was addressed by Arancha Rodriguez, journalist at Spanish radio station Cope, who underlined the club’s stance on the midfielder’s recovery.
“Mourinho explained it well a few days ago. Tchouameni wants to play now, but the technical staff prefer his full recovery. I would also like to remind that he renewed his contract at the beginning of the summer,” she said.
The message is blunt: no shortcuts, even for a player desperate to return and freshly tied down to a new deal. Real Madrid are thinking long term with one of the pillars of their midfield.
Perfect start under strain
On paper, Madrid head into Sunday’s game in complete control of their early-season narrative. Two games, two wins: a 2-1 victory over Espanyol followed by a commanding 4-1 dismantling of Real Sociedad.
The football has flowed, the goals have come, and the points are already stacking up.
Now comes Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu, a fixture that, in other circumstances, might be filed under “routine home win”. Instead, it arrives with the squad stretched and the medical report growing by the day.
Madrid will still expect to impose themselves in front of their own fans. The question is how long they can keep winning while key players watch from the sidelines and the season, with all its demands, has barely begun.
