Madrid hit by double injury blow
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Article summary
Real Madrid CF could go into their Group H meeting with FC BATE Borisov on 25 November without Mahamadou Diarra and Ruud van Nistelrooy, with the latter having travelled to the United States to visit a knee specialist.
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Initial prognosis
The Malian international, 27, came on as an 83rd-minute substitute during Saturday's 4-3 Liga victory over Málaga CF, yet finished the game complaining of a sharp pain in his left leg. Subsequent tests ruled out the possibility of a tear but Madrid's medical staff revealed the defensive midfielder will be out of action for between two and three weeks with bruising. That means he will miss tomorrow's Copa del Rey meeting with Real Unión Club as well as Liga matches against Real Valladolid CF and RC Recreativo de Huelva, while his presence on the flight to Belarus to face BATE is doubtful.
Van Nistelrooy problem
Los Merengues' coach Bernd Schuster may also have to do without Ruud van Nistelrooy for the foreseeable future after the Dutch striker travelled to the United States for a consultation with knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman. The 32-year-old has been hampered by a problem to his right knee all season, although he did feature in Madrid's 2-0 defeat by Juventus on Matchday 4. Early reports suggest Van Nistelrooy could be out for anything from six to ten weeks.
