Morata injury blow for Real Madrid

Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of this weekend’s derby against Atletico Madrid and could see him miss the clash with Barcelona on December 3.

The 24-year-old suffered a knock in Spain’s 2-2 friendly draw with England on Tuesday and underwent a series of tests on Wednesday to determine the extent of his injury.

Madrid have now revealed the attacker has been diagnosed with a muscular problem in his right hamstring and faces a spell on the sidelines.

“After tests carried out on our player Alvaro Morata at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital prior to the training session held Wednesday, he has been diagnosed with a grade two muscle injury in his right hamstring,” a statement on the club’s official website reads.

“His recovery will continue to be assessed.”

It is not yet known exactly how long Morata will be sidelined, but reports from Spain suggest he could be unavailable for up to a month.

The former Juventus man has netted eight goals in 17 appearances in all competitions for Madrid this term.

Morata’s injury leaves Zinedine Zidane short of options ahead of the game against Atletico, with Karim Benzema still recovering from a muscular problem.