Madrid, April 24 (IANS) Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has suffered a double injury setback as his side starts to prepare for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona. Although Madrid remained four points behind Barcelona in La Liga thanks to Arda Guler’s goal in a 1-0 win away to Getafe on Wednesday night, both defender David Alaba and midfielder Eduardo Camavinga had to leave the match with injuries.
Alaba, who started at left-back, was replaced by Camavinga. But Camavinga then suffered an injury that left him unable to continue with just three minutes left to play.
Speaking after the match, Ancelotti confirmed it would be “difficult” for either player to recover in time for Saturday’s final. “We’ll have to see, but Alaba has two injuries in his legs and it’s going to be hard for him to recover for Saturday as they are muscle problems,” said the coach.
With Ferland Mendy also injured, Ancelotti said the absences meant Fran Garcia would probably start Saturday’s game. The good news for Madrid is that striker Kylian Mbappe trained with the squad on Tuesday after suffering an ankle injury against Arsenal last week, and the Frenchman should be fit, reports Xinhua.
Barcelona, meanwhile, will be without Robert Lewandowski, who pulled a hamstring last weekend.
Earlier on Wednesday, Arda Guler’s first-half goal kept Real Madrid in the hunt for the La Liga title with a 1-0 win away to Getafe. The Turkey international fired home from the edge of the penalty area after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria had saved from Brahim Diaz, who also started in a much-changed Madrid starting 11. Soria made several other important saves, while Getafe worked hard but failed to seriously test Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal.
Wednesday was an excellent day for Athletic Bilbao, with the Basque side winning a close match 1-0 at home to Las Palmas, while Villarreal, its closest rival in the battle for fourth place, lost 3-0 away to Celta Vigo. Inaki Williams scored the only goal in five minutes, with a smart finish from Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta’s pass to decide the game. Alex Berenguer hit the bar for Athletic, while Adnan Januzaj rattled the woodwork for the visitors in a nervy second half, in which home goalkeeper Unai Simon also produced two excellent saves.
–IANS
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