Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that David Alaba will not feature in Saturday's La Liga contest with Osasuna at Bernabeu.
The Austria international has missed his side's last two matches against Girona and Napoli due to a groin problem that he suffered against Las Palmas last week.
Alaba had allegedly been winning his battle to be available this weekend, but Ancelotti said during his press conference on Friday that the defender would again be missing.
"Alaba is not at full strength so he won't play," the Italian told reporters when asked for a fitness update.
Real Madrid therefore have a problem in the middle of their defence, as Eder Militao is a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, while Nacho is due to start a La Liga suspension.
As a result, either Ferland Mendy or Aurelien Tchouameni are expected to operate alongside Antonio Rudiger in the middle of the defence against Osasuna.
"The options we have are Mendy or Tchouameni. You will know tomorrow, I know today. We have tried Tchouameni in this position because he has a lot of defensive skills," Ancelotti added.
As well as Alaba, Militao and Nacho, Real Madrid are missing Thibaut Courtois due to a long-term knee injury, while Arda Guler remains on the sidelines with a thigh issue.
"The second part of the season comes to an end with this match. After that there is a break. Osasuna is a team we know well and we've had a hard time beating them here. We have to do our best to try to win," the Real Madrid head coach said when discussing his side's opponents this weekend.
"We will try to play well. Osasuna is a team that defends very well and they try to find us out of position to hurt us."
Ancelotti was also asked about Rodrygo's struggles in the final third of the field, with the Brazilian's starting role under threat from Joselu, who has scored four league goals this season.
"Rodrygo's drought is something that happens to strikers. When it's hard to score, you have to focus on football and that's what Rodrygo is doing," the Italian added.
The 22-year-old has only scored once in 10 appearances during the 2023-24 campaign, which came against Athletic Bilbao on the opening weekend of the new La Liga season.
Real Madrid will enter their last game before the October international break off the back of a 3-2 win over Napoli in the Champions League, which made it three straight successes in all competitions. body check tags ::
