Real Madrid Faces Injury Crisis Ahead of Pre-Season Clash with Deportivo

Real Madrid head into their next pre-season test with a squad list that reads more like an injury bulletin than a statement of strength.

José Mourinho has named his travelling party for Wednesday night’s clash with Deportivo La Coruña, and the omissions jump off the page. Eleven first‑team players will not make the trip, stripping this friendly of a good portion of its star wattage, but loading it with intrigue instead.

A heavyweight squad, on paper. A patched-up one in reality.

Madrid are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2026/27 La Liga season, a campaign that already carries a clear mandate: close the gap on Barcelona and turn pressure into silverware. The work has started early. Friendlies against Fiorentina and Ferencváros have given Mourinho a first look at his options, his fitness levels, and his problems.

Now comes Deportivo, freshly returned to La Liga and eager to test themselves against the champions-elect in so many preseason conversations. It should have been another showcase of Madrid’s depth and new era firepower.

Instead, it doubles as a roll call of absentees.

Eleven out: a who’s who on the sidelines

The club confirmed that a mix of injuries and lack of match fitness has ruled out a long list of key figures. The following players will not be available against Deportivo:

• Marc Cucurella
• Jude Bellingham
• Thibaut Courtois
• Rodrygo
• Kylian Mbappé
• Yan Diomandé
• Ferland Mendy
• Raúl Asencio
• Ibrahima Konaté
• Thiago Pitarch
• Éder Militão

From back to front, the spine is shredded. Courtois and Militão, pillars of Madrid’s defensive structure, are out. The flanks lose Cucurella and Mendy. Higher up the pitch, the absence of Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo strips away creativity and goals. And then there is Kylian Mbappé, the headline act of any squad list, missing from this one.

For a manager who thrives on control and detail, this is a different kind of test.

Mourinho’s pre-season puzzle

Pre-season is rarely about results, but context changes everything. With Barcelona looming as the benchmark once again, Madrid cannot afford to drift into the new season undercooked. These matches carry weight: in rhythm, in understanding, in the hierarchy of a dressing room packed with talent and egos.

With so many established names unavailable, the trip to face Deportivo becomes a laboratory. Mourinho will lean on squad players and emerging prospects, some of whom may not have expected this volume of minutes so soon. Others will sense opportunity. One strong performance in August can reshape a manager’s thinking for months.

Deportivo, buoyed by their return to the top flight, will not treat this lightly. They get a home test against Real Madrid, even if it is a version missing several of its brightest stars. For them, it is a measuring stick. For Madrid, it is a stress test of depth and adaptability.

The season has not even kicked off, and already Mourinho is juggling absences, workload, and expectation. How quickly this patched‑up Madrid can find fluency in games like this may say plenty about how ready they are to hunt Barcelona when the real points go on the line.