The performances of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. will likely have a significant impact on Real Madrid’s success for the rest of this season
The former still has 16 goals in 24 games, but he hasn’t been as effective as the Ballon d’Or-winning season last year.
However, injuries have frequently forced him to miss time during his season.
This season, Benzema has missed 12 games due to injuries due to no fewer than seven different injuries. In light of allegations from Melchor Ruiz that the 35-year-old was not present for the entirety of training on Wednesday, the match against Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, could add to that total.
In what could be another setback for Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is already playing without David Alaba and Ferland Mendy in defence, Antonio Rudiger was also absent from the group practise at Valdebabas.
Ancelotti may decide to rest the pair against Espanyol in order to have them at 100% fitness ahead of the Champions League last 16 second leg against Liverpool next Wednesday because important games against Liverpool and Barcelona are coming up in the next 10 days.
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