BARCELONA, Nov 23: Barcelona and Real Madrid will be without three of their top young players when the Spanish league returns this weekend, after they were injured during the international break.
Barcelona lost 19-year-old Gavi for the rest of the season when the all-terrain midfielder tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and damaged his lateral meniscus during Spain’s final European Championship qualifier. Barcelona visits Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. It sits third in the league standings, four points behind surprising leader Girona and two points behind Real Madrid.
Gavi has played the second most minutes of any outfield player this season for Barcelona, only behind Ilkay Gundogan. The player from near Seville had taken on more importance in recent weeks when fellow midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong were both recovering from muscle complaints. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is also doubtful after he hurt his back while with Germany. If he can not play at the 10th-placed Rayo, then rarely used Iñaki Peña will be in goal.
Madrid visits 16th-place Cadiz on Sunday needing to find replacements for forward Vinícius Júnior and multi-use midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
Vinícius tore a leg muscle in his left leg during Brazil’s 2-1 loss at Colombia on Friday. That should sideline the player who was key to Madrid winning its 14th European Cup two seasons ago for several weeks.
Vinícius’ injury leaves Carlo Ancelotti without one of his top scorers after Karim Benzema left in the offseason for Saudi Arabia. Newcomer Jude Bellingham has so far picked up the scoring load with a league-high 10 goals and 13 goals in all competitions. The 23-year-old Vinícius has chipped in with six goals overall.
Vinícius’ absence could open the door for Joselu to start alongside Rodrygo in attack, and perhaps lead to more minutes for Luka Modric or Brahim Díaz. The 38-year-old Modric has become a second-half substitute for Ancelotti this season after being a career starter.The 21-year-old Camavinga tore a ligament in his right knee in training with France. (PTI)
