Carlo Ancelotti confirms Real Madrid defender is dealing with hamstring issue
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that defender Ferland Mendy has suffered a hamstring injury.
Los Blancos lost 3-0 against arch-rivals Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Saturday, July 29. Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Fermin Lopez Martin netted the second goal for Barca in the 85th minute before Ferran Torres completed the scoring in the first minute of stoppage time.
Mendy, who started the game, was substituted at halftime after he picked up an injury. After the game, Ancelotti confirmed that the Frenchman has a hamstring issue, saying (via Madrid Xtra):
"Mendy has a hamstring problem. He is fine so far and I hope it's nothing serious."
Mendy joined Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon in 2019 but has suffered multiple injury issues throughout his time in Spain. The French left-back made just 28 appearances across competitions last season, providing one assist.
Ancelotti used the likes of Eduardo Camavinga and Nacho Fernandez as Mendy's replacements last season. Los Blancos have now signed Fran Garcia from Rayo Vallecano this summer to compete with the Frenchman for the left-back spot.
Aside from Mendy, Real Madrid's new signing Arda Guler is also suffering from an injury as Ancelotti revealed (via Managing Madrid):
"As for Arda, he has his knee issue and I hope we can fix it in Madrid. It made sense for him to return there already.”
Guler has already left Los Blancos' US pre-season tour to return to Madrid to work on recovering from his injury.
Carlo Ancelotti on Real Madrid's loss against Barcelona
Real Madrid went down against rivals Barcelona on Saturday despite arguably dominating the game.
Los Blancos had 53% possession, made 29 attempts on goal to Barca's 12 but the Catalans had more shots on goal (7-5). The Merengues also had a golden chance to equalize in the 20th minute as they received a penalty but Vinicius Jr. hit the crossbar.
Real Madrid hit the woodwork five times in the game. Ancelotti, sharing his thoughts on the match, was surprised at the same, saying (via Managing Madrid):
“It was a good game with and without the ball and we created a lot of chances, but the negative is the result. It’s quite strange to hit the post five times in one game. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, but I’d rather it happened in pre-season."
He added:
"It seemed there was a wall in front of their goal. The result isn’t the important thing, but we don’t like to lose.”
Real Madrid will next face Juventus in a pre-season friendly on August 3. Barcelona, meanwhile, will clash against AC Milan on August 2.