Tchouaméni ruled out of Real Sociedad clash as seven miss out

José Mourinho is returning to the Santiago Bernabéu after 13 years and will immediately be reminded of one of the basic rules of managing Real Madrid: a fully available squad is largely a theoretical concept. Seven first-team players will miss Wednesday’s meeting with Real Sociedad.

Aurélien Tchouaméni was the latest doubt. The French midfielder had taken part in an earlier session but did not appear on the pitch during the 15 minutes of Tuesday’s training open to the media. He is still following an individual programme after returning for preseason with physical discomfort.

Mourinho confirmed during his press conference that Tchouaméni will not be included in the squad. This is not a newly sustained injury. The midfielder has simply not completed his return to full fitness, and Madrid will not rush the process to make him available for the first home match of the season.

He is far from the only absentee. Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão, Raúl Asencio, Thiago Pitarch and Endrick will also miss the match. That leaves Mourinho without seven members of his first-team squad.

The defensive shortages are particularly noticeable. Militão and Asencio remain unavailable, while Mendy is continuing his rehabilitation. Mourinho must therefore build his central defence from the healthy options of Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konaté and Antonio Rüdiger.

Konaté started the 2-1 victory over Espanyol despite having completed only two weeks of training in Madrid and 45 minutes of preseason football before his league debut. His physical strength was clear, although his positioning for Espanyol’s goal showed that the new partnership still requires work.

Tchouaméni’s absence also affects the structure of the midfield. Mourinho started against Espanyol with Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva operating behind Jude Bellingham. Madrid eventually won, although Carlos Espí had to wait until the 90th minute to score the decisive goal. The plan worked. It simply required almost the entire allotted time.

Tchouaméni would be the natural candidate to sit closer to the defence and provide greater positional balance. Without him, Mourinho must once again find a solution among the available players. He still has plenty of options, although several of them are currently working in the gym, receiving treatment or completing individual recovery programmes.

Wednesday’s fixture is the postponed match from the opening round of LaLiga. Madrid began their campaign away to Espanyol, meaning this will be their first appearance in front of their home supporters this season. For Mourinho, it will be his first game in the Bernabéu dugout since May 2013.

The Portuguese coach has said that he does not want a special reception and would rather see the crowd focus on supporting the team. There may not be much time for a long ceremony anyway. Somebody still needs to count how many players are available for the warm-up.

Madrid enter the match with three points from their victory over Espanyol and seven confirmed absentees. Tchouaméni will continue his fitness work, while Mourinho is again expected to construct his midfield without a natural defensive anchor.

Mourinho’s return was supposed to be the main story of Wednesday night. The injury list has made a determined attempt to earn a headline of its own.

Source: Cadena SER