Karim Benzema and Eder Militao both appeared to be in discomfort as they exited Real Madrid’s victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti is optimistic Karim Benzema will not miss Sunday’s trip to Real Mallorca despite limping out of Real Madrid’s win against Valencia, but defender Eder Militao’s injury is of greater concern.
Benzema equalized with second-half goals from Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior as Madrid moved to within five points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Los Che.
However, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner limped off the contest with an apparent thigh problem on the hour mark after Militao was substituted in the first half with what appeared to be a groin problem.
While Ancelotti hopes to have his star striker available for Madrid’s final league game ahead of their Club World Cup campaign, Militao’s initial prognosis is less encouraging.
Asked about the duo’s condition after Thursday’s win, Ancelotti said: “Karim seems to have a slight problem and Militao will not be fit on Sunday.”
Benzema has been involved in 11 goals in his last 12 games for Madrid in all competitions, with just five assists in the first nine games of the season.
After Sunday’s trip to Mallorca, Madrid will fly to Morocco for the Club World Cup, where they will face either Seattle Sounders or Al Ahly in a semi-final play-off next Wednesday.
Madrid’s involvement in this competition means there will be no respite during a busy period, but Ancelotti is pleased with how Los Blancos have handled themselves in recent weeks.
“January was a difficult month after the World Cup and we did well. We’ll see in February. It doesn’t end here,” Ancelotti said.
“Luckily they put the game on Sunday for us [and Barcelona]. Imagine if they played ours on a Saturday night!”
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