Modric comes back with an injury from international duty: a 10 day stop is expected for him

Real Madrid preparations for the restart have been very intensive after the National Teams meetings. Ancelotti welcomed back some of the players who had been away on international duty: Courtois, Hazard, Camavinga, Alaba, Mendy, Tchouameni and Rüdiger. He also saw Benzema finally come back to train with the team, but there was one important absence at his morning session on Wednesday: Luka Modric.

Luka Modric will be out for eight to 10 days after returning from international duty with Croatia with a hip strain. The 37-year-old played every minute of both matches for his national team, with Los Blancos confirming the injury after some gym training on Wednesday. Due to the injury, Modric will miss matches against Osasuna (October 2), Shakhtar (October 5) and Getafe (October 8) as Real Madrid prepares to enter a month with a very busy schedule.

He is expected to feature in the return match with Shakhtar (October 11) in order to be at his best for El Clasico against Barcelona on October 16. Real Madrid have met the news with resignation, as they know Modric remains deeply committed to playing for Croatia. Their latest win over David Alaba's Austria helped them book their spot in the Final Four of the Nations League, alongside the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Modric is extremely important to this side even at 37 years of age and him being out of action for even a short amount of time is a problem for Los Blancos. But at the same time, the club do have some impressive depth in midfield, with the likes of Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos. With that in mind, the team should be able to deal with Modric being out for the next ten days, at least on paper. It remains to be seen if they can show that on the pitch as well, where it will matter.

Modric’s fitness has amazed most in recent years as he continues to outstrip many who are over a decade younger than him. However Los Blancos will no doubt take the utmost care with Modric, as nobody in their side can provide what he does.