Real Madrid Injury Concerns Grow Ahead of Liverpool Second Leg

Heading into the first leg of Liverpool’s quarter final Champions League tie with Real Madrid, one of the big stories was injuries—and not for the Reds, despite Jürgen Klopp’s side battling through an injury-plagued season.

Rather it was Madrid, with a growing injury list headlined by captain Sergio Ramos and forward Eden Hazard, who were getting the bad news. In the end, though, it didn’t matter and Madrid still secured a comfortable 3-1 victory.

However, they’ll have an even longer injury list for the second leg after Lucas Vazquez suffered a season-ending injury in their 2-1 victory over Barcelona that kept them within a point of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, reports in Spain claim Fede Valverde—who came off the bench against Liverpool last week—is also unlikely to be available for Los Blancos on Wednesday after picking up a minor knock over the weekend.

Most worryingly for Zinedine Zidane, Toni Kroos—who as in the Champions League final a few seasons ago feasted on a Liverpool side that gave space last week—was subbed off against Barcelona due to unspecified discomfort.

Kroos will likely play, but the veteran German midfielder could well be short of 100%. Still, regardless of fitness, the Reds will have to do a better job of putting pressure on him if they’re to overturn their two-goal deficit.