Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Antonio Rudiger will miss at least one more match for the club, as he struggles to overcome a thigh problem.
The Germany international was named in the initial squad for Saturday's La Liga clash with Girona but was ultimately left out, with the centre-back failing to fully recover from the injury that he picked up in the game with Getafe at the start of the month.
Rudiger has now missed Real Madrid's last two league games against Atletico Madrid and Girona, and Ancelotti has said that the 30-year-old will also be absent against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, there is a chance that the defender will be available for next weekend's league game against Rayo Vallecano.
Ancelotti was able to provide some positive injury news in his post-match press conference, though, Nacho set to be available against Leipzig after missing out against Girona with a muscular issue.
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"It was the knock he got against Getafe. It bruised up and caused a bit of a tear. He tried his best yesterday but he was struggling in the change of direction," the Italian told reporters.
"He won't play on Tuesday but we've got Nacho back. I hope he'll be available again soon."
Eder Militao and David Alaba remain unavailable, so it is set to be either Dani Carvajal or Aurelien Tchouameni alongside the returning Nacho in the middle of the defence against Leipzig.
Real Madrid thumped Girona 4-0 on Saturday to move five points clear at the top of the La Liga table, and Ancelotti was full of praise for his team after the contest.
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"It was our best performance. A really complete display in every sense: defensively and going forward. It was a humble approach given the demands placed on us by the problems we had, and the crisis only boosted the team's defensive efforts," he said.
"The strength of this team is how their commitment and attitude rise to match the demands of the game. Quality is the most important thing but if you can combine it with the right attitude and commitment, like we did today, you get a top-level performance.
"It is a big statement in the fight for La Liga because Girona are a great team who hadn't lost away from home. The game plan was fairly simple: high press in the opposition half, man-to-man at times to wrest possession from Girona, and in our half we had to show patience and stay compact.
"Girona push really well with their full-backs but on the transitions we were able to hurt them with Vini Jr. (Vinicius Junior) and Rodrygo on the outside."
Vinicius sent Real Madrid ahead against Girona in the sixth minute before Jude Bellingham netted twice to make it 3-0, with Rodrygo then completing the scoring just past the hour at Bernabeu.
Matt Law
