Eden Hazard and Raphaël Varane Ruled Out for Liverpool Match

Following last week’s news of Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos suffering a calf injury on international duty that is likely to keep him out of action for a month, the past 24 hours has seen two further setbacks for Los Blancos as they prepare to face Liverpool.

First came news that Eden Hazard, having being ruled out of action with a lower back injury since early in March, was to be left out of the squad entirely as he was not fit to face the Reds on Tuesday despite having returned to training over the past week.

Then came rumours of a positive COVID-19 test for Raphaël Varane. Those have now been confirmed by the club, with Madrid releasing a brief statement confirming the player had returned a positive test and will miss at least their next two games as a result.

After Madrid take on Liverpool tonight, they play Barcelona on Saturday in a clásico that has renewed meaning with Atletico Madrid having hit a run of poor form allowing both Madrid (now three points back) and Barcelona (one point) into the La Liga title race.

The return leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool is then set for next Wednesday at Anfield, while the Reds will face off against Aston Villa on Saturday in league action between the two Champions League matches.