Real Madrid will play the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Saturday night without both David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga due to injuries.

It poses a potential problem at left-back, up against Barca superstar Lamine Yamal, with Alaba and Camavinga both viable options that have been utilised there.

Alaba and Camavinga each suffered problems during Wednesday night’s La Liga win over Getafe. Afterwards, Carlo Ancelotti described it as “difficult” for them to be involved in the Copa final.

The boss confirmed in that moment that Camavinga in particular would need to be medically assessed more formally on Thursday. With that having now happened, the club has confirmed a worrying diagnosis for the Frenchman.

A statement revealed that Camavinga has suffered a “complete tear of his left adductor tendon”.

Recovery for the connective tissues in the upper leg can take between four and 16 weeks, depending on the severity – “complete tear” automatically sounds bad – and exact location of the problem.

Based on even the lower end of the timeframe it seems unlikely that Camavinga will play again in La Liga this season, given their final fixture comes on 25 May. He could also be a major doubt for the first iteration of the expanded and reformatted FIFA Club World Cup, which starts in mid-June.

In the immediate term, Madrid are likely to have to go with Fran Garcia against Barcelona in Saturday’s final. The 25-year-old, re-signed as a squad player in 2023, hasn’t generally been trusted in the biggest games, as evidenced by Alaba getting the nod in recent clashes with Arsenal.

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