And the news will no doubt be met with widespread concern on the part of the Real faithful.
Stopper Rüdiger, of course, has not featured in any of Real’s last four outings across all competitions.
After being forced into a premature departure from Los Blancos’ La Liga meeting with Getafe at the beginning of the month, the German international was quickly spotted back on the grass at Valdebebas in the days following.
In turn, it came as something of a surprise when confirmation was forthcoming that Rüdiger was in fact set for a spell on the sidelines.
“After the tests carried out on our player Antonio Rüdiger by the Services Real Madrid doctors have diagnosed him with a muscle injury in the vastus lateralis of his left thigh,” it was announced.
The former Chelsea man, as a result, was most recently ruled out of Real’s clash with Rayo Vallecano, earlier today.
Widespread reports, until now, had pointed towards next weekend’s round of La Liga fixtures, when Carlo Ancelotti’s troops will play host to Sevilla, as Rüdiger’s most likely return date.
If the latest word doing the rounds tonight is anything to go by, however, then this may not prove to be the case, either.
Drawn on the likelihood of Real’s defensive stalwart featuring against Sevilla at the Bernabéu next Sunday, Arancha Rodríguez – Blancos correspondent for Cope – responded bluntly:
