Thursday, 18th October, 2012
Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has bemoaned the injury curse which has struck the Spanish champions.
Coach Jose Mourinho has been forced to look on helplessly as the international break has brought crisis to his backline options.
relatedNewsStoryMourinho has seen Portuguese left-back-cum-midfielder Fabio Coentrao ruled out for one month, while Brazil left-back Marcelo will miss three months due to an injury picked up with the Selecao.
And in a further blow, Real Madrid right-back Alvaro Arbeloa was forced off with a muscle injury in the second half of Spain’s 1-1 draw with France on Tuesday evening.
The blow to Arbeloa is all the more painful for Mourinho, as he had planned to move the defender to left-back to cover the absences of Coentrao and Marcelo, and bring in Michael Essien at right-back.
Alonso, for one, cannot believe the pain the international break has brought Los Blancos.
"The picture is very dark, very dark", said the midfielder.
"It is amazing that in just seven days we have lost three players [to injury]."
The former Liverpool man is confident Mourinho has the situation in hand however.
"But certainly the coach is already looking for solutions, thinking about Saturday and the Champions League."
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