Real Madrid out of fullbacks, waiting on injury status of four others

A total of seven Real Madrid players picked up some kind of injury while away on national duty, three of them fullbacks, leaving Madrid with very few options for their upcoming games. The possibility of Sergio Ramos moving to right back is hindered by yet another defensive injury, to young central defender Raphael Varane. With a road match against Borussia Dortmund coming up on Wednesday, their injury issues can fairly be referred to as a crisis.

Marcelo was the first to go down, breaking his ankle in a friendly against Iraq. Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao followed, and both are almost certain to be unavailable to face Dortmund. Arbeloa will miss up to a month with a hamstring injury, while Coentrao could miss three weeks with a thigh injury. Ramos, along with winger Angel Di Maria and defensive midfielder Michael Essien, all have experience at fullback.

Jose Mourinho could also be light in midfield and up top going forward. He's waiting to hear on the status of Sami Khedira, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema. Benzema is expected to be fine, while Khedira is likely to be rested against Celta Vigo at the weekend to give him a chance to play against Dortmund. The status of Higuain is still unknown.