Ferland Mendy has broken down again. The Real Madrid fullback will undergo surgery and say goodbye to the season.
After tests carried out today on our player, Ferland Mendy, by Real Madrid's medical team, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the rectus femoris tendon in his right leg.
Awaiting further developments," reads the white club's medical report on the Frenchman's injury, who left the field at RCDE Stadium in the 10th minute with gestures that hinted at the worst. For a player who has suffered so much, this felt truly cruel.
Another setback for Mendy, who will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The timing is terrible for Madrid. According to sources from the white club, specialists and the player will evaluate the option of surgery in the coming days, which is the most logical and likely course of action.
Although it is difficult to calculate his time out, pending whether he goes under the knife, he could be out for about five months. That being the case, this is his fifth injury of the season for a player plagued by injuries. And a drama that seems to have no end with the white club: 120 injuries in the last two campaigns. The medical room at Valdebebas never rests.
Mendy has played only nine matches. After rupturing something last season in the Copa final, Xabi Alonso could not count on the left back until Nov. 26, when Madrid visited Athens in the Champions League. He has been on the field for 448 minutes, which is less than five full matches total.
A campaign in which injuries have again deprived Ferland Mendy, who, while healthy, has shown a great level, more than fulfilling his role in the Champions League series against Bayern Munich, in which he stopped an unstoppable Michael Olise.
Mendy's ordeal at Madrid is beyond understanding. Of the 20 injuries suffered by the French fullback in these seven years, only three have been due to trauma. The rest, all muscular injuries of varying severity.
But the numbers are what is most striking: Mendy has missed a staggering 129 matches, not counting those that will come from his new injury against Espanyol. A total of 708 days sidelined, almost two full calendar years. His body has simply broken down too many times now.
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