Real Madrid's rock Federico Valverde grounded by injury

The Uruguayan midfielder had been piling up game after game, rarely showing signs of wear, and dodging the treatment room for what felt like an eternity.

Whenever quizzed about giving Valverde a breather, Ancelotti's reply was unwavering: "Fede is fine and wants to play," he'd said time and again. For ages, not even the most gruelling fixture list could faze the man dubbed 'The Falcon'.

That was until 12 days ago. Real Madrid have been relentless this year, clocking their 40th match of the campaign against Osasuna on 15 February. The strain was starting to tell on Valverde.

Two weeks back in Pamplona, he looked stretched, and it came to a head in the Champions League clash with Manchester City at the Bernabeu. Sporting a hefty bandage on his left thigh, he cut a worrying figure, hamstring niggles threatening to morph into something worse.

For the first time in two years and three months, Valverde has been sidelined by injury. His last spell out came on 22 October 2022, when a bruising challenge from Sevilla's Papu Gomez left him with a thigh haematoma, sidelining him for just seven days.

Since then, the midfielder had been a rock, untouched by injury, until now. These latest muscle troubles have forced him to miss Real Madrid's last three outings, leaving him out of action for 12 days and counting.

Valverde's absence sees him drop out of an elite group at Real Madrid, the handful of players yet to miss a game through injury this season. That club, now down to Andriy Lunin, Endrick Felipe, Arda Guler, Luka Modric, and Fran Garcia, has lost its talismanic number eight.

He's become the 17th player in Ancelotti's squad to pick up a physical setback in a campaign that's seen Los Blancos rack up 39 injuries, seven more than last term's total and a whopping 21 more than Atletico Madrid, their next Champions League opponents.

Diego Simeone's side have had just 18 injuries, a stat that's fuelled their impressive form.

Ancelotti had leaned heavily on Valverde's durability, but even steel bends eventually. "He's been immense for us," the Italian boss said earlier this season, "a player you can always count on."

Now, with the midfielder nursing his way back, Real Madrid are left counting the cost of a brutal schedule.

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