Arda Guler is expected to miss another month of action after Real Madrid confirmed he has suffered a fresh muscular injury.
Madrid paid around £17m to secure Guler's signature during the summer but are yet to see the Turkish teenager in action due to a series of injury problems.
Guler underwent knee surgery during the summer before suffering a setback which further delayed his debut, but he was back on the bench for Madrid's last two games and the hope was he had moved on from his fitness struggles.
Unfortunately, Guler is back on the sidelines after Madrid diagnosed him with a small muscle tear in his right quadriceps, with local reports suggesting Guler could miss a further four weeks of action as a result.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed during a press conference on Friday that Guler's latest injury is not related to his earlier knee problem.
"Unfortunately [another injury] has happened," Ancelotti explained. "Before the Braga game, it didn't seem like anything, but it continues to bother him. It's not a serious thing.
"Obviously, the player is depressed because he is young and wants to play, he wants to contribute. It's a small step back. It is not a relapse of the old injury and we have the entire international break to try recover.
"The first injury was a meniscus tear he suffered last year, which he couldn't deal with. He had surgery and, as often happens with this injury, your posture changes with the other leg and, during recovery, you can have muscle problems. That's what happened to him.
"His future is beautiful. Beautiful. He is a very talented player. I can understand that the player is disappointed, but it is just a small muscle problem. I have personal experience, I stopped for two years when I was 21 and then came back.
"Guler's future is absolutely not in doubt. It's just a bad moment, and I hope he can recover well after the break."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Arda Guler returns to sidelines as Real Madrid confirm new injury.
