Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid superstar
Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images
Real Madrid hoped Jose Mourinho’s return would help bring an end to the injury problems that have repeatedly disrupted the squad.
Two months into the new season, however, there has been virtually no improvement, as the numbers suggest.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Madrid have already suffered nine injuries this season, exactly the same number they had recorded at this stage of the previous campaign.
Six Real Madrid players currently sidelined
Mourinho currently has six players in the treatment room: Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde, Ibrahima Konate, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy.
Rodrygo and Mendy are long-term absentees, while Madrid must monitor Mbappe, Valverde and Konate to determine whether they can return against Villarreal.
It continues an extraordinary sequence for a club that suffered 60 separate injuries last season.
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid superstar
Kylian Mbappe suffered an injury on international duty. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Only Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo Garcia, Brahim Diaz and Fran Garcia avoided injury throughout that campaign.
While they may not be the only reason, the physical problems became one of the major explanations for why Madrid finished the season without silverware.
Mourinho’s changes have not solved the problem yet
Madrid did not ignore the issue during the summer.
Mourinho arrived with Sandro Carrico from Benfica to oversee the club’s Sports Sciences department, with injury prevention and managing the physical impact of accumulated workloads among his areas of responsibility.
Yet the early numbers underline why there was never going to be an instant solution. Nine injuries by this point in consecutive seasons suggest the problem is more deep-rooted.
Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa were all affected before Mourinho encountered the same problem.
Madrid need the international break to help
There is some encouragement around Militao, who has already been working alongside the group at Valdebebas.
Eder Militao, Real Madrid player.
Eder Militao is back in training at Real Madrid. (Picture credit: Real Madrid official website)
However, Madrid’s concern goes beyond simply getting through the Villarreal match. Mourinho needs availability to build his project.
Losing Mbappe, Valverde and Konate together would hurt almost any side, regardless of its depth.
There is no quick fix to fitness issues, and Madrid need to get greater depth on exactly why these injury problems keep cropping up.
It remains to be seen how Mourinho goes about managing the absences and whether the injury record improves over the course of the campaign.
Manchester City superstar’s potential arrival could force Real Madrid into huge Vinicius or Mbappe decision
Erling Haaland #9 of Norway
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Erling Haaland could potentially become available in 2027, and this would present Real Madrid with an extraordinary opportunity.
However, signing the Manchester City striker would create an enormous question: what happens to Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe?
According to Bernabeu Digital, the possibility of Haaland moving to Madrid could increase if Manchester City receive a severe punishment in their ongoing case.
However, accommodating the Norwegian could ultimately require Los Blancos to part ways with either Vinicius or Mbappe.
Haaland would completely reshape Madrid’s attack
The attraction is obvious. Haaland would give Mourinho something his current superstar pairing does not naturally provide: an elite, specialist No. 9 who wants to occupy central spaces.
Mbappe has produced outstanding goalscoring numbers through the middle, but his natural tendency remains to drift towards the left.
Erling Haaland of Manchester City
Real Madrid could find Haaland as an opportunity next summer. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Vinicius wants that same territory, creating a positional overlap that Madrid have already experienced this season.
Haaland would remove that ambiguity. He plays through the centre, allowing Madrid to build around a fixed reference point with genuine width around him.
Haaland’s existing relationship with Jude Bellingham from their Borussia Dortmund days could be another useful factor.
Vinicius or Mbappe could face difficult decision
The most complicated issue would be finding the right balance for the rest of the attack.
Neither Vinicius nor Mbappe is realistically suited to becoming a rotational player.
Playing Haaland centrally while accommodating both could simply recreate Madrid’s existing structural problem, particularly because Vinicius and Mbappe are most dangerous when attacking from the left.
Thus, the only way Madrid can make this work is by selling one of Mbappe or Vinicius, despite both being on long-term contracts.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid
Bringing in Haaland would likely mean sacrificing one of Mbappe or Vinicius. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
Vinicius would currently appear the more plausible departure, with the Brazilian failing to hit the heights of his previous seasons.
The other thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the possibility of Haaland becoming available is hypothetical at this stage.
Manchester City will surely appeal the charges and, even then, the extent of the punishment they may receive is not clear.
Signing Haaland still seems a far-fetched dream, and Los Blancos can focus on the repercussions if and when the transfer starts looking more realistic.