A headline member of the defensive ranks at Real Madrid will play no part in the first leg of the club’s Champions League semi-final.
Real, of course, are fresh off booking their spot in the final-4 of European football’s elite club competition, for what feels like the hundredth time.
After Los Blancos and Manchester City could not be separated across a full 210 minutes of football, proceedings at The Etihad on Wednesday night were sent to a penalty shootout.
And, when all was said and done, it was the former who held their nerve, emerging 4-3 victors from 12 yards to keep hopes of yet another Champions League title alive.
Next up for Carlo Ancelotti’s troops comes a showdown with German heavyweights Bayern Munich, who edged out Arsenal this evening to secure their own spot in the semi-finals.
As alluded to above, though, in their opening meeting with the Bavarians, Real will be forced to make do without a key member of the club’s backline.
The player in question? Dani Carvajal.
Owing to his latest yellow card on Wednesday, stopper Carvajal has picked up a one-game Champions League suspension.
On the other hand, the trio of Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga and Vinícius Jr. have seen their disciplinary slates wiped clean, no longer a solitary booking away from a ban of their own.
Conor Laird | GSFN
