Triple Suspension Blow Worsens Alvaro Arbeloa’s Selection Crisis vs. Celta Vigo

Real Madrid must go into a must-win game without over half their strongest XI.

Álvaro Arbeloa is officially on the hot seat. | Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

As the walls slowly close in, Real Madrid boss Álvaro Arbeloa must now prepare for a bout with Celta Vigo without at least eight players, including the suspended trio of Dean Huijsen, Álvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono.

In the span of two weeks, Los Blancos went from leading the La Liga title race to trailing bitter rivals Barcelona by four points. Injury woes, systematic issues and a lack of composure saw the 15-time European champions suffer back-to-back league defeats against Osasuna and Getafe.

Real Madrid came out the worse for wear after the latter as tensions boiled over at the Bernabéu. Both Huijsen and Carreras picked up needless bookings—their fifth yellow cards of the La Liga season—and therefore must miss the trip to Vigo.

To make matters worse, Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for dissent and earned a two-game ban, leaving Arbeloa with an impossibly thin squad for a must-win game on Friday.

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Mbappe, Rodrygo and Every Real Madrid Player Out vs. Celta Vigo

Kylian Mbappé is sidelined for the foreseeable future. | Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Losing the suspended Huijsen, Carreras and Mastantuono for the team’s upcoming clash would be bad enough for Los Blancos. But they are also missing a slew of injured players, including the team’s leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappé.

The Frenchman is sidelined with the same knee injury that has lingered since December, leaving a giant hole—in the shape of 38 goals this season—in Real Madrid’s attack. Mbappé is working with the club’s medical staff as well as French specialists to get back to the pitch as soon as possible, though there is no set recovery timeline for the superstar forward as of now.

Joining Mbappé in the infirmary is Rodrygo, who tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee in Monday’s defeat. The Brazilian is out for the rest of the season and also the World Cup.

Long-term absentees Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos and Éder Militão are also unavailable due to injury, while Raúl Asencio and David Alaba remain doubts. Question marks also surround Eduardo Camavinga’s status after the France international missed out against Getafe due to a toothache.

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A Complicated Selection Process Looms for Arbeloa

Vinicius Junior (left) will have to lead Álvaro Arbeloa’s attack. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Missing so many players—key ones at that—leaves Arbeloa with the unenviable task of deploying an XI that can collect three points against Celta Vigo, a task the team could not even manage in December with Bellingham and Mbappé on the pitch.

Now, the Spanish boss has just three first-team attackers available in Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo García and Brahim Díaz. The trio could be Arbeloa’s frontline should he wish to convert to a 4-3-3 or Federico Valverde could get the nod on the right wing over Brahim.

If the manager opts for his favored 4-4-2, then it will likely be just Vinicius Jr and Gonzalo García up top. Valverde, then, would return to the midfield alongside Arda Güler, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Camavinga—if he is healthy.

The real problems come in defense. Without his starting left back and possibly four center backs available, Arbeloa must improvise. Fran García is the natural fit for the left flank, as is Trent Alexander-Arnold for the right.

Should Asencio and Alaba not recover in time, Dani Carvajal or Ferland Mendy could be forced to play at center back alongside Antonio Rüdiger. Tchouaméni is also an option, but his services are likely more needed in the midfield.

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