Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz is set to be out for at least two months after suffering a hip abductor injury.
The Morocco international was forced off in the 25th minute of Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday night and subsequently replaced by Rodrygo.
“Following tests carried out today on our Brahim Díaz by the Real Madrid medical department, the player has been diagnosed with an injury to the abductor longus muscle of his right leg,” said a club medical report on Sunday.
The former Manchester City midfielder was making his first league start of the season having been a substitute in Madrid’s previous four outings.
Diaz, 25, is now likely to miss Madrid’s next eight La Liga games as a result of the issue, including the first Clasico of the season against Barcelona on October 27.
He will also miss the beginning of Madrid’s Champions League defence, which begins on Tuesday at home to Stuttgart and continues in October with games against Lille and Borussia Dortmund.
The playmaker, who represented Spain at youth level before declaring for Morocco, spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns on loan at AC Milan, where he scored 18 goals in 124 appearances in all competitions.
Diaz joined City from Malaga aged 14 in 2013 and made 15 first-team appearances for the club before signing for Real Madrid in 2019 on a six-and-a-half-year contract.
(Oscar J Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)