Rival watch: Real Madrid starlet suffers muscle overload two weeks before Barcelona clash

We are just a fortnight away from the season’s first El Clasico, but things are not looking good for Barcelona.

Following back-to-back defeats in all competitions, the pressure is on Hansi Flick, who is also dealing with an apparent injury crisis.

Dani Olmo became the latest player to pick up an injury and is now a serious doubt for El Clasico, leaving Barcelona further devoid of options in midfield.

A rare boost for Barcelona

However, in a rare boost for Barcelona, it appears Real Madrid, too, could lose one of their key players heading into El Clasico.

As reported by AS, Franco Mastantuono is set to return from Argentine national team duty due to an overload.

This was confirmed by the Argentine national team, with the playmaker all set to return to Madrid, presumably for further checks.

Franco Mastantuono has returned from the Argentine camp due to overload. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Although Mastantuono is suffering from overload, further diagnostics could reveal something far more troubling for the player, especially if he has indeed picked up an injury.

For the time being, Mastantuono joins a list of injuries for Real Madrid, which includes the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal, among others.

Should the Argentine get knocked out for anything more than two weeks, he could be ruled out against Barcelona, which in turn could make things a little easier for a Blaugrana side dealing with their own injury woes.

Real Madrid, though, have enough players to replace Mastantuono, especially with Vinicius, Arda Guler and Rodrygo Goes also fighting for a place in the first team.

In contrast, Barcelona are facing a much tougher time in midfield, where coach Flick may have to deploy youth sensation Dro in a starting role against Girona next weekend.