Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos appears to have been ruled out of next week's Champions League tie against Liverpool.
Ramos sustained a calf injury after appearing as a late substitute in Spain’s World Cup qualifying win against Kosovo on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos said in a statement: “After the tests carried out (on Thursday) on our captain Sergio Ramos by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he was diagnosed with a muscle injury in the internal twin of his left leg.”
Ramos, who had recently returned to full fitness following knee surgery, stepped off the bench in the closing stages for Spain in their 3-1 win against Kosovo.
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Although Real have not confirmed how long Ramos is expected to be out, he is highly unlikely to feature in Real’s quarter-final clash with Liverpool next Tuesday. He is also expected to miss El Clasico against Barcelona the following Saturday.
Liverpool's visit was set to rekindle the feud between Ramos and Mohamed Salah, who dislocated his shoulder in a cynical challenge from the Spain international during their Champions League final clash in 2018.
Salah was forced out of the match in the first half and the incident prompted heated reaction on social media from both sides’ fans.
The clubs have won the competition 19 times between them, with Madrid beating Liverpool in the 2018 final and Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League champions winning it a year later. Liverpool are themselves without several key players due to injury this season, including star defender Virgil van Dijk.
