Confirmed: Real Madrid to be without forward for up to six matches

Real Madrid are already dealing with several injury problems, and another impending absence has now been confirmed in the last 24 hours.

Later this month, the 2025-26 Africa Cup of Nations gets underway, with the tournament being hosted in Morocco. A number of La Liga stars will be featuring on home soil, with one of those being Brahim Diaz, who switched allegiance from Spain back in March 2024.

Brahim is one of the stars of Morocco’s squad for the tournament, which was announced on Thursday (via Diario AS). Because of his inclusion, Real Madrid will be without his services for a number of upcoming matches.

Image via Andre Coelho/EFE

The Real Madrid matches that Brahim Diaz would miss

The minimum number of matches that Brahim will miss is two, those being against CF Talavera de la Reina in the Copa del Rey and Sevilla in La Liga. However, it is expected that Morocco will progress far in their home tournament, and were they to reach the final, the 26-year-old would be unavailable for as many of six games.

Brahim, who is said to have a strained relationship with head coach Xabi Alonso, would miss Real Betis (4/1), Atletico Madrid (8/1), a possible Spanish Super Cup final (11/1) and Levante (19/1) if Morocco were to progress to the final of the 2025-26 Africa Cup of Nations, which would be far from ideal for Real Madrid and Alonso – although it would not be disastrous, given that he is not considered a regular starter.

The situation is worse for other La Liga clubs – in particular Real Betis, who will have Sofyan Amrabat and Ez Abde at AFCON. Girona midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who has been in excellent form for the Catalans since his summer move Marseille, and Villarreal’s Ilias Akhomach have also been called up Walid Regragui, meaning that they could also be absent for a number of matches over the coming weeks.