Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior has not been shy about pointing the finger at what he believes is to blame for a hamstring injury that will sideline him for the rest of 2024.
Vinicius played 90 minutes La Liga Madrid beat Leganés on Sunday evening. But Carlo Ancelotti had opted to play him centrally, in a swap with Kylian Mbappe, because he was already feeling tired after the back and forth trips to South America during the international break.
Monday, the club confirmed that Vinicius had suffered a hamstring injury. Although no official recovery time frame was given, Spanish reports quickly placed his expected absence at one month. This means he is unlikely to return before the winter break over the Christmas period.
AX, formerly Twitter, Vinicius cited Madrid’s post about his impending absence to make his feelings on the matter clear.
“The crazy calendar,” he claimed, then added, “TO RECOVER!”
The crazy calendar……… TO RECOVER!
https://t.co/oqSnKkP5MT
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) November 25, 2024
Concerns about congested match schedules, number of matches and travel commitments regarding fitness and well-being have been increasingly highlighted by elite footballers.
Rodri had talked about the excessive physical demands of the best players just days before an anterior cruciate ligament injury sidelined him long-term. The Spain midfielder attended October’s Ballon d’Or ceremony on crutches, although he hopes to return in time for the reformatted 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, a competition that extends the club’s season until mid-July.
Madrid vice-captain Dani Carvajal he suffered his own ACL injury soon after. Cruelly, so did Eder Militao for the second time in just over a year. David Alaba is also recovering from a similar injury he suffered just over 11 months ago.
The Champions League has been expanded this season, adding two more games to the new ‘league stage’ which replaced the old group stage. An extra two-legged tie has been introduced for clubs finishing ninth to 24th in the standings.
Madrid will also travel to Qatar next month to play in the final of the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup, a mini-tournament that has replaced the defunct December edition of the Club World Cup. But Vinicius will miss the match due to being ruled out.
