Real Madrid midfielder James Rodríguez is expected to remain on the sidelines for at least another week as he battles to recover from the muscular injuries which have plagued his campaign.
Having initially picked up a knock back in the 1-0 win over Sevilla in September, Rodríguez played through the pain to operate as a late substitute for Los Blancos during October, but aggravated the injury and has missed the team’s last two games.
According to Marca, it could be at least another week before Rodríguez returns to action, so he is expected to miss Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Galatasaray and Saturday’s trip to Eibar.
Fortunately, Rodríguez will then have the international break to recover, so he will be targeting a return by the time Real meet Real Sociedad on 24 November.
Marca go on to explain that Rodríguez has been restricted to just work in the gym and he is yet to return to training, and neither has winger Gareth Bale, who has been battling his own calf injury.
There is a sense of uncertainty about the fitness of both players. AS note that Rodríguez and Bale have requested to have their medical records kept private, so Real have been unable to provide any real updates on the pair.
Manager Zinedine Zidane will certainly be eager to welcome both players back. With his squad ravaged by various injuries, Real laboured to an underwhelming 0-0 draw with Real Betis last time out, when the likes of Rodrygo and the misfiring Luka Jovic struggled to inspire Los Blancos’ attack.
It appears as though the pairs will be given another chance to impress against Galatasaray, given Zidane has few other options at his disposal.
Having already fallen five points behind Paris Saint-Germain in Group A, Real know that they can ill-afford to drop any more points, especially with Club Brugge just two points behind them.
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