Real Madrid hit with last-minute blow ahead of Barcelona

La Liga giants Real Madrid have on Sunday evening been hit with nothing short of a hammer blow on the personnel front. This comes amid confirmation that Thibaut Courtois will not be available to face Barcelona.

José Mourinho’s troops are of course primed to play out the most important fixture of their campaign to date in a mere matter or hours.

Already trailing their arch rivals by six points in the race for the Spanish top-flight title, Los Blancos have made the trip to Catalunya’s capital to lock horns with Hansi Flick’s Barcelona.

Real head into the matchup in the knowledge that they simply cannot afford a defeat, with Barca showing no sign of letting up in their rampant run of domestic form.

Safe to say, then, that the latest word stemming from Spain’s capital will come as a devastating setback for all of a Real Madrid persuasion.

As per a report from The Athletic:

‘Thibaut Courtois has not travelled with Real Madrid for Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona as he recovers from the flu.’

Shot-stopper Courtois had retained hope of recovering until the very end, but was ultimately deemed not fit to make the trip to the Spotify Camp Nou. Andriy Lunin will therefore step in in place of the Belgian.

Conor Laird – GSFN