Real Madrid Faces Injury Crisis Ahead of Deportivo Friendly

Real Madrid’s pre-season planning under José Mourinho has hit an early test, with an eye-catching list of absentees from the squad to face Deportivo La Coruña on Wednesday night.

Less than two weeks out from the start of the 2026/27 La Liga campaign, Madrid have released their travelling party for the friendly – and the names missing tell the story.

Mourinho’s plans, interrupted

Mourinho has spent the summer sharpening his side against Fiorentina, Ferencváros and a growing cast of tune‑up opponents, all with one clear objective: close the gap on Barcelona and turn a title challenge into a title fight.

The work has been intense. The calendar, unforgiving. The squad list, suddenly thin.

When the club published the group heading to face Deportivo – newly returned to La Liga and eager to test themselves against the champions-elect in their own minds – the omissions leapt off the page. Eleven first‑team players, all out through a mix of injury issues and insufficient match fitness.

For a pre-season game, that is a full team missing.

A star-studded absentee list

These are the Real Madrid players who will not feature against Deportivo:

• Marc Cucurella
• Jude Bellingham
• Thibaut Courtois
• Rodrygo
• Kylian Mbappé
• Yan Diomandé
• Ferland Mendy
• Raúl Asencio
• Ibrahima Konaté
• Thiago Pitarch
• Éder Militão

It is a roll call that slices through the spine of the side: the first-choice goalkeeper, key central defenders, full-backs, and some of the most dangerous attacking talent in Europe all sidelined on the same night.

For supporters, the absence of marquee names such as Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois will sting, even if this is “only” a friendly. For Mourinho and his staff, it turns the Deportivo clash into something else entirely: not just a fitness exercise, but a stress test of the squad’s depth before the real football returns.

Chance for the understudies

The injuries and fitness concerns strip away some of the glamour, but they also clear the stage. Fringe players and youngsters will now be asked to shoulder responsibility against a Deportivo side buoyed by promotion and desperate to announce their return with a statement performance.

Madrid, by contrast, arrive as a powerhouse with a patched-up cast. That contrast can be revealing.

Pre-season rarely defines a season, yet it often exposes fault lines and hidden strengths. With so many senior figures missing, Mourinho will get a sharper look at who can be trusted when the league begins and the pressure stops being theoretical.

Real Madrid wanted a serious rehearsal. They will still get one – just not the way they planned.