Two Crucial Real Madrid Players Pick Up Injuries Against Rayo Vallecano, How Serious Are They?
It was another tough match in Vallecas for Real Madrid as they failed to win for the fourth consecutive time against Rayo Vallecano at their home stadium. It wasn't just the 0-0 draw that concerned coach Xabi Alonso; two players had picked up injuries during the game.
The fans saw one when vice-captain Fede Valverde was replaced late in the game. The Uruguayan was picked up several times by the cameras, holding his right leg, possibly in the hamstring area.
That is precisely what it was, with the official Real Madrid website given an injury update, saying it was an issue with his semimembranosus muscle, part of the hamstring—the other player injured was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
How Long Games Will Valverde and Courtois Miss?
Real Madrid's No. 1 played the whole game against Rayo Vallecano, but at some point, he picked up an injury. A statement from the Real Madrid website said Courtois had an injury to the adductor longus muscle in his right leg. Both players are set to be monitored.
There has been no timeline for how many games they could miss, but media close to the club have said they are not expected to be serious. The next match comes on November 23 against Elche, just under two weeks away. That is due to the international break, the final one of 2025.
Neither player may join up with their respective national teams, but that has not been announced either. However, with both teams not having challenging games, they may be left to return to Madrid. Belgium has two World Cup qualifying games but needs just one win from two games to finish top, and one of them comes against Liechtenstein, who have zero points.
Uruguay has two friendly games, as they have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, so Valverde may not be risked again. News will be announced over the next few games if both players have pulled out of the squads.
If both players are missing for the next La Liga game, then Andriy Lunin will start in goal. However, with Aurélien Tchouaméni ruled out until at least the end of November, Alonso could have some big calls to make in the midfield.
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-031bbeb5612ca252e2129722373fa56d.png "Jordan Merritt")
Jordan Merritt is a staff writer for Real Madrid On SI. Before joining On SI, he wrote at Fansided, covering Ole Miss football, basketball, and baseball. He has also written for YardBarker, Heavy Sports, and the official EFL site. Merritt is a big sports fan, spending most of his weekends watching Soccer, the NFL, the NBA, college football/basketball, and others. Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Merritt was an Engineer for over 10 years. He lives in West Yorkshire, England, and is keenly interested in sports trading cards.
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