Rodrygo Goes will miss out on a spot in the Real Madrid starting lineup against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena on Saturday.
Real Madrid will aim to continue a flawless start to the 2025/26 season when they lock horns with Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena on Saturday evening. Xabi Alonso has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Antonio Rudiger is a long-term absentee after picking up a hamstring injury. The German centre-back will be on the sidelines for three months. Rudiger has joined Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham, and Endrick on the sidelines, with the quintet missing from the travelling squad.
Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Alonso provided fitness updates on Bellingham, Mendy, and Camavinga. The Spanish tactician also discussed the possibility of naming a starting lineup featuring Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior.
The Real Madrid manager said, “I’d like to be optimistic, I hope to see him [Bellingham] back before October. He’s started doing a little bit with the group – no contact yet because we have to look after him so his shoulder heals properly. Jude has really worked on his recovery, he’s feeling good. He won’t be available tomorrow but we’ll see if he can start making progress from next week and return to full training. When we’re all happy, especially him, then we’ll be thrilled to have him back.”
“Eduardo is on a similar timeline to Jude, he’s back training with the group. If there aren’t any set-backs, he’ll be available for the squad soon. He’s been given the all-clear from the medical team. Ferland is a bit further away. It was a bit of a more complex injury, he’s a few weeks away yet.”
Speaking about the three star attackers, the Real Madrid manager said, “Yes, they can. They played a lot last year and they can do the same now, depending on the game and the other players available. It’s not something I’ve ruled out, we’ve only played three games. Often we look to draw definitive conclusions from very short periods of time and I think we should take things a bit easier. We’ll assess things in due course.”
However, despite Alonso’s comments, Rodrygo will miss out, with Franco Mastantuono accompanying Mbappe and Vinicius in the final third. As for the midfield unit, the partnership of Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Arda Guler.
The backline should also remain unchanged, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, and Alvaro Carreras completing the defensive quartet. Finally, Thibaut Courtois will retain his spot between the sticks.
Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid Predicted XI
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler; Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.