Zinedine Zidane has several injury concerns, the last one is Gareth Bale, but the player that worries the most is Daniel Carvajal. The right back got a virus last week and some medical tests detected a problem in the heart. The defender needs to stop playing without a return date. This is very serious.
Everything started after the game against Borussia Dortmund. Dani Carvajal was feeling unwell and he had some tests. Initially, it was a viral infection, but it developed in a pericarditis, a problem with the membrane wrapping the heart. The proximity of such a vital organ makes this illness very difficult to treat.
Now Dani Carvajal has to rest. He needs to stay at home without making any effort and wait. There is no date to come back and he shouldn’t rush. The only treatment is to wait, be patient and rest. The viral infection should go away in two or three weeks, but then he needs to wait for the pericardio to go back to the normal size. And there is no real treatment for this.
Carvajal cannot exercise during his lay-back period. For a normal person, this illness could be easier to treat, because the main issue is to rest and don’t make any physical effort. Obviously, for a professional athlete this is not possible, so he needs to be very careful and do not rush during some weeks.
After the victory in Dortmund, the player needed to stop. Now there is no date to come back, unfortunately, but it won’t be soon. Recently, Carvajal extended his contract and he commented in the press conference that there was no problem for being the only right back in the squad.
This illness alters Zidane’s plans. Achraf Hakimi is the only right back in the squad and he made his debut last weekend against Espanyol. It looks like Achraf will have several opportunities during this period, although Nacho Fernández could also play as a right back now that Marcelo and Theo Hernández are back in the training ground.
