Real Madrid injury news: Los Blancos head coach Xabi Alonso addresses Trent Alexander-Arnold injury after Marseille contest

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso is hopeful that the injury suffered by Trent Alexander-Arnold in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Marseille is "not as bad as it seemed".

Alexander-Arnold was forced off in the fifth minute of the European contest with a suspected hamstring issue, and his replacement, Dani Carvajal, was then sent off in the second half of the match.

The ex-Liverpool defender is now seemingly set for a spell on the sidelines, but Alonso did give a mildly positive update when questioned after the match.

"We’ll wait a bit, maybe it’s not as bad as it seemed. We have to be creative in finding solutions. [Raul] Asencio came in well. [Jude] Camavinga and Jude [Bellingham] are back and will be able to play on Saturday," said the Real Madrid head coach during his pre-match press conference.

A grade one hamstring issue could keep Alexander-Arnold out for a couple of weeks, but if the summer arrival has suffered a grade three injury, then he could be out for at least eight weeks, with surgery potentially required.

Alexander-Arnold was forced off injured against Marseille

The 26-year-old has now made 10 appearances for Real Madrid since his arrival, having featured on five occasions at the Club World Cup before playing five times in the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign.

Alexander-Arnold is almost certain to miss Real Madrid's game against Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday, and depending on the severity of the issue, he could be out until the middle of November, which would also see him miss the Champions League clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Los Blancos have five more games before the October international break halts the season, including La Liga fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, and a Champions League clash with Kairat.

Despite the setbacks of having one right-back substituted and another sent off against Marseille, Real Madrid managed to navigate their way to a 2-1 victory, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice from the penalty spot.

Mbappe double handed Real Madrid narrow win over Marseille

"A lot happened in the match. The first half-hour was very good, with many chances. We could have taken the lead, but we conceded. Then everything became level. We were pushing until things got complicated with Carva’s sending-off," Alonso told reporters.

“And the team showed their self-respect, their Champions League spirit. We didn’t back down; we wanted to win. And that spirit allowed us to defend with 10 men and hardly have any trouble.

“We were winning every time. And Marseille is playing well. We had recovered a lot in the opponent’s half. It was a very good match, even after the draw. And after the sending-off, everything went crazy,

"Despite conceding, the team continued in good form. The second half wasn’t as frantic. With one man down, I didn’t feel like I was trying to hold on; we were ahead anyway. We showed maturity, we barely suffered at all."

Real Madrid have now won each of their five matches at the start of the 2025-26 campaign, including 2-1 victories in their last three games in all competitions.