Zinedine Zidane has been forced to shuffle his side for the second time for this afternoon’s game against Eibar after the bad news about Luka Modric’s injury was exacerbated by news that James Rodriguez had pulled up in the warmup.
Zidane had originally reacted to news of Modric’s injury by naming a midfield three of Isco-Kroos-James, but the latter’s late injury has forced Zidane into playing Isco-Kroos-Kovacic. Kovacic will provide some stability that James might not, although the Colombian has been in excellent creative form in recent weeks.
James Rodriguez has muscular issues. Kovacic will take his place in the Starting XI. #AnimoJames
— RMadridHome (@RMadridHome_) October 2, 2016
Madrid have not confirmed the severity of the Modric injury, but some sources are reporting the midfielder could miss a month. Los Blancos need a win today to match their city rivals Atletico, who beat Valencia 2-0 earlier to go top of the table.
Barcelona play Celta Vigo in the late game, with the Catalans also looking to go top with a win.