La Liga 2018/19: Injuries add to Real Madrid's long list of problems as crucial players likely to miss El Clásico

The 2018-2019 season started very kindly for Los Blancos who scored 15 goals and conceded only 3 in their first 6 games which included 5 victories, 1 draw and no defeats. Real Madrid's brand new front 3 of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and a young Marco Asensio looked promising but tough times were ahead for the 33-time Spanish Champions.

It was only the calm before the storm as the European giants have since been without a win for 3 games now. This winless streak includes a 3-0 away humiliation to Sevilla at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, a goal-less draw at home against Atletico and a shocking 1-0 away defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champions league, being unable to score for more than 300 minutes in the process.

Real Madrid suffer humiliation against Sevilla as they go down 3-0 before half-time

Their terrible form in la liga was mirrored by their arch rivals Barcelona causing them to be level on points after matchday seven. But Barcelona look well on their way to recovery as they defeated Tottenham at the Wembley Stadium with a dominant 2-4 scoreline after a masterclass from Lionel Messi in which he scored two goals.

A world class performance from Lionel Messi sees Barcelona dominate Tottenham

Barcelona and Lionel Messi's brilliant recovery of form should be enough in itself to raise alarms in Madrid but the growing list of injuries is also making things increasingly difficult for Los Blancos. Dani Carvajal and Isco look likely to miss El Clásico. Carvajal was forced to quit midway through Real's clash against CSKA Moscow and was later diagnosed with an injury in his left soleus (calf) muscle.

Isco has been unavailable since before Real Madrid's clash with Sevilla due to acute appendicitis and was operated for the same at Madrid's Sanitas-La Moraleja clinic. It is uncertain if he'll be able to recover match fitness in time for their clash against Barcelona at Nou Camp scheduled for the 28th of October.

Dani Carvajal likely to miss El Clásico

Real also currently have some other crucial players such as Marcelo and Gareth Bale unavailable due to minor injuries but are expected to recover without too much trouble. With Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane already gone in the summer and the team trying to adapt to their new manager Julen Lopetegui, it will be interesting to see how Real Madrid deal with a long season and a limited bench against a wide variety of high quality opposition both in domestic and European competitions.