Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid’s squad is strong enough to cope with an injury crisis that has left them without a string of key players, with Vinícius Júnior and Eduardo Camavinga the latest to be ruled out over the international break.
Madrid have been without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Éder Militão since August, both with ACL tears, while Vinícius — with a hamstring injury — and Camavinga — with a lateral knee ligament tear — are both expected to be absent until January.
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Aurélien Tchouaméni has a broken metatarsal and Arda Güler is still waiting to make his debut after suffering a hamstring problem. Jude Bellingham — with a dislocated shoulder — and Kepa Arrizabalaga — with a hamstring issue — have also been out short-term.
“These injuries have affected us a bit, but this squad is well constructed,” Ancelotti said in a news conference on Saturday ahead of Madrid’s LaLiga game with Cadiz. “We’ve been competitive without Militao, Courtois, Vinicius and Bellingham.
“We have all the confidence in the world. We see this as an opportunity to show how good we are, and how good the other players in this squad are.”
Madrid went into this weekend second in LaLiga behind surprise leaders Girona, although Barcelona would climb above them with a win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Ancelotti blamed a congested fixture list for the number of injuries players have suffered.
“It’s a calendar that can’t continue,” he said. “We have this problem and it will get worse, we have a World Cup with more games, a Champions League with more games. The only solution is to reduce the number of games. But I’ve never heard a players’ union say something.
“If they cut the number of games, it would be good. It would reduce the number of injuries and improve the spectacle. I’ve seen games in this international break which finished 8-0, 14-0. I don’t know if that makes a lot of sense.”
Madrid’s midfield options are limited with injuries to Tchouameni and Camavinga, but Ancelotti said he is happy with his alternatives.
“We have a lot of resources. Bellingham can play in midfield. Brahim has done well. Vinicius didn’t play for a month and we got good results. Bellingham didn’t play and we scored five goals against Valencia [on Nov.11].
“Federico [Valverde] could be an option at pivot. So is [Toni] Kroos. It could be Kroos-Valverde, Kroos- [Dani] Ceballos, Kroos- [Luka] Modric. We have a lot of options.”
Ancelotti — whose Madrid contract runs until June 2024 — has been reluctant to discuss his long-term future, with repeated links to the Brazil national team job.
“It makes me proud that one of the biggest national teams in the world like Brazil talk about me,” he said.
“But that’s all. I have a contract until June 30, and until then I won’t talk about my future. Soon everything will become clear. In the worst case, in six months!”
When asked if he would be willing to wait until the last day of his contract to find out if Madrid wanted him to continue, he said. “Of course.”
ESPN has reported that Real Madrid are monitoring the progress of former player Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen as a potential future manager.
“He has the quality to do this job,” Ancelotti said. “He knows football. He has the personality a coach must have. I like him a lot as a coach, how his team plays. He’s one of the coaches I like the most, with Bologna’s Thiago Motta. They were two players I had.
“Obviously Xabi has the profile to coach Real Madrid. He knows the place, he did well here, he’s loved here.”
