Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior is expected to be sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury, ruling him out of Wednesday’s Champions League tie at Liverpool.
The 24-year-old underwent scans on Monday after reporting tiredness following Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Leganes.
Vinicius Jr played the full 90 minutes against Leganes, providing the assist for Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal, with scans later revealing an injury to his left thigh.
He is expected to return for the final of the Intercontinental Cup — FIFA’s new annual mid-season competition, replacing the previous iteration of the Club World Cup — on December 18.
Vinicius Jr appeared to blame the congested fixture schedule for his injury, writing on X: “The crazy calendar… TO RECOVER”.
The injury comes ahead of a busy run of fixtures for Madrid, who play five games in two weeks between December 1 and December 14.
The Brazil forward previously struggled with hamstring injuries during the 2023-24 season, missing over two months of action due to two separate hamstring injuries. He was sidelined in September 2023 with a right thigh problem, before tearing a muscle in his left thigh while on international duty in November.
Vinicius Jr has provided 12 goals and eight assists in 18 appearances in all competitions this season. He previously scored twice against Liverpool on his last visit to Anfield in a 5-2 last-16 victory for Madrid in the 2022-23 competition.
European champions Madrid are 18th four games into the league phase of the Champions League following two wins and two defeats.
Liverpool are top of the league phase after winning their opening four matches.
The fixture marks a repeat of both the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals, with Madrid winning on both occasions.
(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
