Real Madrid are counting the cost of their defeat to Osasuna on Saturday evening, and one of them is Dani Ceballos. The former Arsenal midfielder came on for the final stages of the encounter at El Sadar, but has been diagnosed with an injury since.
Ceballos was introduced with seven minutes to go at El Sadar, with Los Blancos looking for the winning goal. The veteran midfielder struggled to get into the game though, and it was a loose pass of his that resulted in the winning goal for Osasuna, as they broke away and Raul Garcia de Haro slotted a second home for Los Rojillo in added time.
Ceballos suffers muscle injury against Osasuna
Los Blancos have announced the injury, but have not given a recovery time for Ceballos. However given it is a tear, he is expected to be out between four and six weeks say Marca. That would more or less guarantee that he remains sidelined until after the March international break.
How many games will Ceballos miss?
Ceballos is set to miss a minimum of four games, but it could be as many as eight. In La Liga, he will be absent against Getafe next week (H), Celta Vigo (A), Elche (H) and likely Atletico Madrid (H). If he is out for six weeks, the tie against RCD Mallorca (A) will also be under threat.
In the Champions League, Ceballos is certain to miss the return leg at home to Benfica, and would be ruled out of both Round of 16 ties too, should Real Madrid make it. Ceballos would in theory be back for a potential quarter-final clash.
Real Madrid alternatives
The reality is that Ceballos has played very little under Alvaro Arbeloa, but with Jude Bellingham still a couple of weeks away from action, it does leave Arbeloa short of alternatives to what appears to be his preferred midfield four of Arda Guler, Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. Brahim Diaz or Franco Mastantuono can play wide in a four, or Rodrygo Goes could return as a third forward.
Arbeloa has given minutes to Jorge Cestero and Thiago Pitarch from the Castilla side too, and they could be in line for more opportunities.
