Real Madrid’s injury concerns worsened on Monday when they confirmed midfielder Toni Kroos has suffered a torn adductor muscle and looks set to miss most of the January schedule.
Kroos was substituted late in Sunday’s limp 0-2 La Liga defeat to Real Sociedad, and now joins Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Marcos Llorente and Mariano Diaz as senior players unavailable to under-fire coach Santi Solari.
The news came in a Madrid club statement which said the injury was a “grade 2 tear” but did not specify an expected recovery time.
Parte médico de Kroos.#RealMadridhttps://t.co/watdV7sXAh
— Real Madrid C.F.⚽ (@realmadrid) January 7, 2019
“Following tests carried out on our player Toni Kroos today by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a grade 2 tear of the adductor muscle in his left leg,” the statement said. “His recovery will be monitored.”
Madrid could play nine games across La Liga and the Copa del Rey during a busy January schedule — with their 2019 having got off to a bad start with just one point from two La Liga games against Villarreal and La Real.
Club captain Sergio Ramos called a squad meeting for Monday at the club’s training ground where the defender said some straight talking would take place, with midfielder Luka Modric having backed Solari in the Bernabeu mixed-zone Sunday night against some very harsh local media criticism.
Solari is set to rotate his squad for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey last 16 first leg at home to Leganes, who famously knocked their richer neighbours out of the competition at this stage 12 months ago.
Dani Ceballos is likely to replace Kroos in the XI for Sunday’s La Liga trip to Real Betis, the Andalusian’s former team.