FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Osasuna - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - November 9, 2024 Real Madrid's Eder Militao reacts after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - The international break came at the perfect time for Real Madrid to try to speed up the recovery of some of their key players in an injury-plagued start to the season but they find themselves still depleted ahead of their trip to Leganes on Sunday.
They returned to winning ways two weeks ago with a 4-0 victory over Osasuna at the Bernabeu following heavy home defeats by 4-0 to pacesetters Barcelona in LaLiga and 3-1 against AC Milan in the Champions League.
However, the win came at the cost of losing Brazil centre back Eder Militao to an anterior cruciate ligament tear for the second straight season, while full back Lucas Vazquez and forward Rodrygo also joined their lengthy injury list.
The 26-year-old Militao became the second Real player to suffer an ACL injury this season after full back Dani Carvajal.
Already missing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba, coach Carlo Ancelotti was left in dire straights with Antonio Ruediger, Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia as the only experienced defenders in his senior squad.
The Italian will be forced to resort to the club's youth academy players to fill in on Sunday at lowly local rivals Leganes only three days before they travel to Liverpool to face the in-form Premier League and Champions League leaders.
There is optimism Courtois could be back against Leganes after a muscle injury while Vazquez, with a thigh strain, seems to be making progress towards a return at Anfield.
Defender Alaba resumed training last week following a lengthy recovery from another ACL tear suffered last year and his availability is still a question mark.
Defensive midfielder Tchouameni has often been deployed as a centre back by Ancelotti whenever he needs help in defence but the France international is still several weeks away from returning after an ankle sprain.
That has left inexperienced 21-year-old academy product Raul Asencio as the remaining choice to play at centre back alongside Ruediger, at least until the transfer window opens in January.
"We will evaluate the situation in the coming months. The only thing we can do is try to recover as many players as possible. We will see in January what happens," Ancelotti said after the Osasuna win.
With a game in hand, Real are second on 27 points, six behind Barcelona whose seven-match winning streak in all competitions ended with a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad before the international break.
Also struggling with injuries, Barca will still be missing talisman Lamine Yamal, who was absent with an ankle problem in their loss at San Sebastian and has not fully recovered to be available for coach Hansi Flick at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid, who are one point behind Real, host lowly Alaves also on Saturday.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
