Real Madrid had to experience a traumatic 4-0 defeat to their eternal rivals FC Barcelona last Saturday. Naturally, the mood at the Merengue club is quite gloomy at the moment, as such a heavy defeat to such a fierce rival is unacceptable for any football fan.
But amidst all this gloom, there was a piece of good news for Los Blancos, which would allow Carlo Ancelotti to breathe a sigh of relief.
Following the El Clasico, there were reports of Real Madrid being worried about the situation of one of their key defenders Antonio Rudiger, who was seen hobbling during the game.
However, Diario AS reports that detailed tests on the centre-back show that he is not suffering from any injury, and it was only a muscular overload that resulted in him limping during the game against Barcelona.
Real Madrid allowed Rudiger two days of rest to let his muscles relax a bit before taking him through an MRI. The results of this test showed that there was no muscular tear, and the discomfort that the German was facing in the match was caused only by an overload.
Still, Rudiger is a doubt for the upcoming game against Valencia at the Mestalla. The degree to which he can participate in that match will be determined by his performance in the upcoming training sessions, during which he will have to undergo a lot of physiotherapy and controlled exercises.
If there is even a slight risk of aggravating the problem, Real Madrid will not play him against Valencia, and Aurelien Tchouameni will take his place along with Eder Militao in the middle of the backline.
Rudiger has been playing non-stop this season and has had only minimal rest, which explains the muscular problems suffered by him. He is currently the player with the second-highest minutes, 1267, only behind Federico Valverde who has played 1302 minutes this season.