Carlo Ancelotti has blamed Real Madrid’s busy fixture list for the series of injuries the team has suffered so far this season, with forward Brahim Díaz the latest player to be sidelined.
Diaz was substituted in the first half of Madrid’s 2-0 LaLiga win at Real Sociedad on Saturday, with the club later confirming that he had suffered an abductor muscle injury in his right leg.
Sources have told ESPN that Diaz will be out for over two months. The club had first feared a three-month absence, but sources close to the player told ESPN that they’re optimistic he could return earlier.
Speaking in a news conference on Monday ahead of Madrid’s Champions League game with Stuttgart, Ancelotti blamed the calendar for a string of early season injuries.
Midfielders Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos have all been absent in recent weeks, although Ancelotti said Bellingham and Tchouaméni would be available on Tuesday.
“We’ve looked at what we can do, but it’s out of our hands,” Ancelotti said. “The problem is a calendar that’s too demanding. Now we have a new competition [the Champions League]. We don’t know how it will go, if it will be more entertaining, but the one fact is that we have two extra games.
“I call for people to think about cutting the number of games, to have more attractive competitions.”
Ancelotti said defender Éder Militão, who didn’t train on Monday, had been rested and would be fit to face Stuttgart.
The coach also defended forward Vinícius Júnior, who has received criticism for his celebration after scoring a penalty on Saturday, putting a finger to his lips to hush the crowd at the Reale Arena.
Ancelotti said the abuse the Brazil international receives from fans made the gesture understandable.
“It’s a reaction to something ugly,” Ancelotti said. “It happens a lot, the insults, nobody could put up with that, I couldn’t either. Putting his finger to his lips is quite normal with everything that’s happening.
“I think we should focus less on the individual, and more on what happens in stadiums. Why do they do it to Vinícius? Because they think he’s dangerous in a sporting sense, they try to distract him from the game.”
“We see and hear the insults aimed at [Vinícius],” defender Dani Carvajal added. “If you get pricked, you bleed. It’s normal that he responds with certain gestures.”