Real Madrid have had their fair share of injury problems over the last 12 months, but those appear to be ending. In recent weeks, Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga returned from long-term absences, and Ferland Mendy will soon join them.
Mendy, who had been Real Madrid’s starting left-back in recent seasons, has not played since being forced off in the early stages of the Copa del Rey final in April. A hamstring injury saw him ruled out for three months, but as it has turned out, he has been out of action for almost double that.
However, his injury hell is coming to an end, with Marca reporting that Mendy has finally joined his Real Madrid teammates in group training. He will take time to get back up to speed, but he will be keen to make his comeback in his next stretch of fixtures in the lead-up to next international break in November.
Mendy will find it difficult to see regular minutes
Mendy may have been first-choice left-back over the last 2/3 seasons, but right now, he is third in the pecking order. Summer signing Alvaro Carreras has made the position his own since arriving from Benfica, while Fran Garcia has proven himself to be a very useful backup when called upon.
Nevertheless, there could be chances for Mendy to feature, given that he has shown himself to be very capable on the biggest stage – with this being the case as recently as Real Madrid’s successful Champions League run during the 2023-24 campaign. He could even be utilised as a left-sided central defender in a back three, which is a system that Alonso knows well from his Bayer Leverkusen days.
It remains to be seen how much Mendy is used by Alonso, but regardless, this season could be the Frenchman’s last at the Santiago Bernabeu, given that there is little need for three first team left-backs.
