Real Madrid Manager Jose Mourinho Given Centre Back Dilemma

Although we are currently in the thick of an unprecedently long international break, club football will be back before you know it, with Real Madrid taking to the field against Villarreal in their next game in nine days time from now. 

With this break, it is easy to forget just how concerning the situation is at the moment. In the most recent game, Los Blancos suffered a painful 2-0 defeat to city rivals, Atletico Madrid, meaning that the team are now six points off of league leaders FC Barcelona. 

In that game, Dean Huijsen was sent off for what can only be described as a daft foul on Atletico forward, Giuliano Simeone, giving away the penalty and opening goal at the same time. 

This means that Jose Mourinho is seriously short changed in central defence. Since then, Ibrahima Konate pulled out of international duty with France, and question marks remain over his availability for the clash with Villarreal. 

Furthermore, Raul Asencio underwent surgery and will be out for 2-4 months, meaning he will definitely miss the game with Villarreal, as well as multiple other games, leaving Mourinho threadbare in that position. 

Although Eder Militao is closing in on his return having been out of action since April, it feels like this game will come a little too soon, especially from the start of the game. So, if Konate does not return in time, then Antonio Rudiger will be the only recognised central defender at the manager's disposal. 

We could see Aurelien Tchouameni fill in there, as he has done so in the past. This would allow Mourinho to potentially give Eduardo Camavinga a start in midfield, having impressed with the French national team under former Real Madrid player and manager, Zinedine Zidane - especially with Federico Valverde touch and go for the game after a nasty looking injury sustained in the Madrid derby.

That is one potential positive from this situation, though it really does not feel ideal at all. If the team can just get out of the Bernabeu with three points, then you have Huijsen's suspension over, as well as Konate and Militao one game closer to their return. However, more dropped points and the La Liga title race could be over before it was even truly started, so let's see. 

On rating app Sofascore, the current possible XI for the game is; Courtois; Dumfries, Rudiger, Cucurella; Silva, Camavinga; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Espi.