Carvajal out around a month with calf injury -report

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal will be out around one month with the calf injury he picked up during the first half of the team’s 1-2 win at Mestalla against Valencia last Sunday, according to a report from MARCA. The defender has decided to keep his medical reports private —just like Gareth Bale— and the club will not publish an official medical report about his injury, per that same report.

This is devastating news for both Carvajal and Real Madrid. The defender was hoping to put his issues with injuries behind him after completing an individual pre-season stage, but he has only stayed healthy for a handful of games.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti will now have to replace Carvajal with Lucas Vazquez, who has shown some problems as a right-back in recent games. Vazquez is solid when he is not required to do much defensive work, but he could struggle against talented attacking teams.