Alarm in Real Madrid by Kroos

Toni Kroos, this season with Real Madrid. AFP7 via Europa Press (Europa Press)

All the red alarms have gone off for Madrid a week after closing the tie against PSG.

In addition to the sure losses of Casemiro and Mendy due to the accumulation of cards, Kroos' injury is now added.

The German suffers from muscle problems in the hamstrings of his left leg and, in the absence of the MRI that will be carried out this Friday, official sources from the white club see "practically ruled out" that the midfielder could be next Wednesday at the Bernabéu, in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 (1-0 in the first leg).

The absence of Casemiro already meant a serious disorder in the spinal cord for Carlo Ancelotti and forced the Italian coach to make unnatural decisions in that area of ​​the field, but this possible loss of Kroos decrees the state of maximum alert against the most demanding rival and with the obligation to come back.

The immutable Casemiro-Kroos-Modric triangle would break on two sides.

Since this combination was established in the white team six seasons ago now, in 2016 with Zinedine Zidane on the bench, of the 32 Champions League knockout games that Madrid have played, in 26 of them they have done so with the three at a time as starters.

And of the six remaining matches, only in one did he lose two of these pieces.

It was, precisely, against PSG in Paris, in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2017/18 campaign.

Then, after 3-1 in his favor in Chamartín, he went to the meeting without Kroos or Modric, and emerged victorious from the Parc des Princes (1-2) with an average made up of Casemiro, Kovacic, Lucas Vázquez and Asensio.

This positive memory, however, would not help this time to avoid grief on the white circuit if Kroos' loss is joined by Casemiro's.

The impact of the clash two weeks ago in France, with a very dominating Parisian team from head to toe, and which squeezed Madrid's core of untouchables, unable to overcome the local pressure and get the ball out, would shoot, in the best cases, skepticism about the outcome of the crash.

Camavinga, at the bottom in 2022

Everything pointed to Kroos as the one chosen to occupy the central axis without Casemiro, in the company of Modric and Valverde.

This is how Ancelotti slipped it a few days ago in the Rayo preview and confirmed it after winning in Vallecas.

It was not a satisfactory solution either because the German's discomfort in that position and his defensive shortcomings with respect to the Brazilian

to contain rival attacks have been known for a long time.

For a couple of months, Carletto tested Camavinga in that position, but the tenderness of the young Frenchman (19 years old) has made him lose his place in 2022. The demands of Verratti, Mbappé, Neymar and Messi did not seem the best option to return to put the former Rennes player into orbit, although now, perhaps, it is a solution by force.

Whatever the remedy, if Kroos' absence is confirmed against PSG (he is a sure loss against Real Sociedad this Saturday at 9:00 p.m.), the Italian coach would have to make limit decisions and explore unknown territories to date in this campaign.

After seven months of predictable line-ups, with hardly any room for specific and isolated rotations, Madrid would risk its neck in Europe without its most established line.

To deal with this sensitive situation, Ancelotti would have the newcomer Camavinga in the closet of pure midfielders, about whom he has not given many signs of confidence in recent times;

Isco, banished from these highly demanding matches since the pandemic broke out;

and Ceballos, who has been injured for five months and has only played 65 minutes.

Center back and full-back David Alaba, with experience at Bayern in that demarcation, could be another alternative, although he hasn't played there for a minute this season and Mendy's loss against PSG also makes his relocation to midfield more difficult.

A very complex scenario a week to face the toughest test.

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