Karim Benzema and Eder Militao both appeared to be in discomfort as they exited Real Madrid’s victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti is optimistic Karim Benzema will not miss Sunday’s trip to Real Mallorca despite limping out of Real Madrid’s win against Valencia, but defender Eder Militao’s injury is of greater concern.
Benzema teed up second-half goals for Marco Asensio and Vinicius Jr on Thursday night, as Los Blancos moved to within five points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 victory over Los Che.
However, the reigning Ballon d’Or holder limped out of the contest with an apparent thigh problem on the hour mark, after Militao had been replaced in the first half for what looked to be a groin issue.
While Ancelotti is hopeful of having his star striker available for Madrid’s final league game before their Club World Cup campaign, Militao’s initial prognosis is less encouraging.
Asked about the condition of the duo after Thursday’s win, Ancelotti said: “Karim seems like a slight problem and Militao will not be fit on Sunday.”
Benzema has been involved in 11 goals in his last 12 appearances for Madrid in all competitions, having only registered five goal contributions in his first nine matches this season.
After Sunday’s trip to Mallorca, Madrid jet off to Morocco for the Club World Cup, where they will meet either the Seattle Sounders or Al Ahly in a semi-final tie next Wednesday.
Madrid’s involvement in that competition means there will be no respite during a congested period, but Ancelotti is pleased with how Los Blancos have coped in recent weeks.
“January was a hard month after the World Cup and we’ve turned out well. We’re going to see in February. It doesn’t stop here,” Ancelotti said.
“Luckily, they have put the game on Sunday for both us [and Barcelona]. Imagine they had put ours on Saturday night!”
