Opponent watch: Real Sociedad centre-back set to miss Real Madrid clash | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Girona in La Liga yesterday helped keep the men in white on Barcelona’s toes and stop the bleeding in the domestic competition.

There were many positives for Carlo Ancelotti to take away on the night, the most notable of which was the return of David Alaba as a starter alongside Raul Asencio in what marked the certain end of Los Blancos’ current defensive crisis.

Ironically, their next opponents Real Sociedad are facing an acute shortage of centre-backs heading into the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Real Madrid and the situation does not look pretty.

The latest casualty

As relayed in a recent update by AS, Real Sociedad centre-back Nayef Aguerd is set to miss the clash against Real Madrid, handing them a major blow.

Jon Pacheco, Igor Zubeldia, Hamari Traore, and Luka Sucic are already out injured for Imanol Alguacil’s side leaving the defensive unit in a dire shortage of options.

Real Sociedad running out of centre-back options ahead of Madrid showdown. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

The manager, Imanol Alguacil, thus used a combination of Aritz Elustondo and Nayef Aguerd in the team’s most recent outing. Now, however, the latter is also ruled out of the game against Los Blancos with a rectus femoris injury.

Aguerd did not train with the team on Saturday but the manager remained hopeful that he could return in time to play against Real Madrid. Now, however, the situation is no longer as clear and him missing the game is a real possibility.

If the Moroccan star is indeed unavailable, it will likely be their young academy star Jon Martin who will have to fill in the centre-back position.

Still just 18 years of age and with only five La Liga appearances behind him, however, it is clear that his inclusion against Real Madrid is far from favourable for La Real.

All eyes will thus be on the Real Sociedad squad list to see if Aguerd does indeed miss the game. After all, it can only be interpreted as a massive boost for the men in white.