Real Madrid confirmed in a medical report on Monday that centre-back Raphaël Varane has suffered an injury to his right abductor muscle.
Varane now faces a minimum of 10 days on the sidelines. Fortunately for head coach Zinedine Zidane, club captain Sergio Ramos is ready to return from a calf injury and could start at Stamford Bridge.
Varane underwent an ultrasound scan on Sunday, having come off at half-time in Madrid’s 2-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday, but it failed to pick up the issue. It was only when medical staff decided to perform an MRI scan on Monday that the injury was detected – a microtear to the muscle – which looks set to also rule him out of next weekend’s crunch clash at home to Sevilla in LaLiga.
