Real Madrid star Luka Modric might miss three of their most crucial fixtures this season, after contracting a muscle problem this week.
The Croatian came off against Girona on Tuesday, and immediately had ice applied to his thigh after experiencing signficant pain, as per Relevo.
That pain has not improved in the three days since and has in fact gotten worse, placing his presence in the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna (eight days away) and the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City (eleven days away) in question.
Modric is hoping to recover as quickly as possible, but often these muscle problems tend to take a week to two weeks to recover from as a minimum. He would likely be ruled out of both of those crucial fixtures.
However he could be back for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Etihad on the 17th of May, which represents a more realistic return date. It looks like a major blow for Carlo Ancelotti though.
At the very least, Real Madrid can count on a number of midfielders to fill in alongside Toni Kroos, if accepting none can quite replicate Modric’s contribution. Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Dani Ceballos can all play instead.
Ceballos is perhaps the most similar option Los Blancos have, with Ancelotti commenting in the past that he is the closest thing to the Croatian in his eyes. Most recently in big games, Valverde, Kroos and Modric have been starting with Camavinga at left-back, but he may choose to play Nacho Fernandez at left-back and move the Frenchman forward if he wishes to play more cautiously against Pep Guardiola.
