Spanish giants Real Madrid may well be forced to navigate the club’s upcoming showdown with Liverpool sans the services of two absolutely integral first-team stars.
Los Blancos, of course, will turn their attentions back towards matters on the continent this coming Tuesday.
After seeing out a La Liga meeting with Osasuna, Carlo Ancelotti’s troops will kick the defence of their Champions League crown into gear, in the first-leg of a highly-anticipated Last-16 tie with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
As alluded to above, however, just days out from the Anfield clash, Real are continuing to sweat over the availability of not one, but two key members of Ancelotti’s squad.
The players in question? Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos.
For those not aware, midfielder Kroos was forced to sit out in midweek, as the reigning Spanish champions made short work of Elche at the Bernabeu.
Hitman Benzema, on the other hand, did feature, bagging a brace of penalties en route to an eventual four-goal rout.
He was hauled off late on, however, after complaining of discomfort.
Both Kroos and Benzema, in turn, were absent from first-team training on Friday, left off of Real’s squad list to face Osasuna as a result.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @Osasuna_en!#OsasunaRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/MWotkXomKv
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 17, 2023
It now remains to be seen whether either recovers in time to take their place in the starting XI for the repeat of last season’s Champions League final on Tuesday night.
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