Mendy has broken down again. That is the burden that accompanies a footballer whose performance leaves little doubt, but who lacks consistency. With this weak spot. It happened around the 10th minute, during a defensive sprint. Maximum speed... and a sharp blow.

Noticeable pain with which he finished the play, reaching the ball and stopping the attack, but from there, he went to the ground. The tear was beyond doubt. Awaiting tests, it points to the upper area of the right quadriceps (something similar to the injury he suffered in the Copa final; that time, it required surgery and seven months).

And it points to something significant. He does not count for Deschamps, so the debate about the World Cup is moot. But it is practically certain that he will not play again this season.

Because there are only three weeks left — and four league games — and given the symptoms, the injury being anything less than that seems like a utopia. Mendy walked off, although slightly helped by the medical staff. But his gestures showed enormous pain.

A screeching halt to a moment in the season when, beyond the collective disappointment, he had been a key player. This was his third start in the last four games. He had completely overtaken Carreras and Fran Garcia. But this is as far as he has come, it seems.

This is the fourth injury he has suffered this season. On Nov. 26, in Athens, he returned after his severe tear in the Copa final: a rupture of the proximal tendon of the rectus femoris in the right quadriceps. After a pause of exactly seven months. He looked quick, solid, and confident. But five days later... another injury: a rupture in the right biceps femoris. Three weeks out, until Christmas.

That return was also brief: in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, he suffered a calf rupture. He missed the final... and up to eight more games. But a third injury was still to come, caused by pushing himself against Manchester City: a rupture in the biceps femoris of his right leg.

And from there, to the present. He returned against Girona, where he played 12 minutes with the mindset of gaining rhythm to start in Munich a few days later. To serve as an antidote to Olise, who had been a headache in the first leg, and so it was.

Mendy started at the Allianz, rested against Alaves, and then two straight starts: Betis and tonight, against Espanyol. When he felt that sharp blow to the right quadriceps area and said goodbye.

Ferland arrived in 2019, and since then, he has suffered at least 19 injuries. The season in which he had the most was 2021/22, with five, but this statistic has the nuance that the vast majority were minor. That season, he missed 18 games and 86 days.

To put it in perspective, this season he has missed 29 of 52 games (56% of the total) and is on track for 150 days in the infirmary. It is not the season in which he has suffered the most injuries in terms of number, but it will be the one in which he has spent the most time on the sideline.

The incident also left the image of the substitution: Arbeloa chose Fran Garcia over Carreras. A decision that was surprising at first. The television broadcast, in fact, captured Carreras flashing an ironic smile on the bench. He did not even get up to warm up.

From now on, the question arises of who will be the left back in the Clasico. Whether the bet on Fran Garcia will be maintained or whether Carreras will return. What is certain is that Mendy will not play. It does not look like he will do so again this season. He has broken down again.

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