Real Madrid faces the worrying prospect of being without striker Ruud van Nistelrooy until well into the New Year if tests on his right knee prove the worst.
The Dutch striker received a blow on his knee while playing against Juventus in the Champions League two weeks ago. He has already missed his side's last four games and things could become much worse.
Van Nistelrooy needed an operation on his meniscus ligament, while playing for PSV Eindhoven in 2000, before he joined Manchester United.
He now appears to have aggravated the same problem. Although Real Madrid is reluctant to operate on the 32-year-old forward at the moment, they have sent their medical reports to Dr Richard Steadman, the man who originally treated the striker's knee.
The Spanish press speculated on Saturday that the best Real Madrid could hope for is that he will be out of action until the start of 2009.
That would see him miss a total of 12 matches, including the vital trip to play FC Barcelona and the last two games of the Champions League qualifying group, which the team has to win to assure its place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy (R) kicks the ball as Espanyol's Jose Maria Lacruz watches during their Spanish first division soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid Oct. 5, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) If he does need an operation that time out will be extended by at least another four weeks. Meanwhile winger Arjen Robben is also out until the end of the year with a torn muscle.
These injuries again highlight the deficiencies of Real Madrid's pre-season planning. The club spent the entire summer chasing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United and neglected to sign another center forward, even though they only had Van Nistelrooy and Raul and Javier Saviola, who last season played just nine games as specialist strikers.
The Dutch forward scored 41 league goals in his first two seasons with Real Madrid and so far has netted four goals, three of which were in the Champions League this season.
The short-term solution looks to be to use B-team striker Alberto Bueno as a replacement, but they will now almost certainly have to sign another striker when the transfer window opens in January.
Source: Xinhua
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