Gonzalo Higuain has confirmed that he will be available for Real Madrid’s game with Celta Vigo this weekend.
Los Blancos’ have been hit by a number of injuries during the international break and boss Jose Mourinho may find himself selecting from a depleted squad for Saturday’s game with the Galicians.
However, he will have been heartened by the news that striker Higuain’s problem is not serious after he had to leave the pitch in Argentina’s 2-1 victory over Chile following a hard tackle from Gonzalo Jara.
“Come on Argentina! I’m very happy. We won a tough game! With the respect to the injury I suffered luckily it is not serious. Thanks,” posted Higuain on his official Twitter account.
It would have been a particular blow to Mourinho with Higuain’s front partner Karim Benzema having injured his left knee in a clash with Iker Casillas and Sergio Busquets in the 1-1 draw with Spain.
After the game the Frenchman told reporters he was ‘fine’ but will be subjected to further tests on Wednesday to discover the extent of the injury.
Another worry for the Portuguese is with his full-backs, where Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao are out for three months and one month respectively, as Alvaro Arbeloa picked up a knock just after half-time in the France game that will keep him out for three weeks.
In all probability Mourinho will need to move centre-back Sergio Ramos to his old role at right-back, despite him only being declared fit for the France game the day before, while Michael Essien is a possibility having occupied the role several times in his Chelsea days.
If Ramos is selected at No 2 then the central defence will be made up of Pepe alongside either Raul Albiol or youngster Raphael Varane, which could see a member of the reserve team such as Jorge Casado or Nacho drafted in.
Sami Khedira, who missed Germany’s World Cup qualifier with Sweden on Tuesday, is also struggling and will be assessed by the club’s medical staff this week.
