Real Madrid Announces Big Star's Spanish Super Cup Semifinal Absence

Real Madrid has announced that its captain Luka Modric will be missing from Thursday's Spanish Super Cup semifinal meeting with Mallorca via an official statement shared on social media and its website.

"Our player Luka Modric is out for today's match against RCD Mallorca due to a viral process," the correspondence read, before adding the short "pending evolution" sentence that usually terminates these sorts of messages.

Modric wasn't expected to start in the Super Cup last four meeting with Mallorca, as Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde should form a double pivot behind a more advanced Jude Bellingham in the center of the park.

Yet as MARCA explains, his absence is still a loss for head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who routinely introduces the veteran as one of the first substitutions in midfield.

Thus far this season, the 39-year-old, who signed a one-year contract extension last summer, has featured in 19 La Liga games for Los Blancos - seven of which were as a starter.

Last time out, he led the team in a 5-0 win over Deportivo Minera from the offset, and was heavily complimented by his manager who called the Croat a "gift" to soccer.

MORE FOR YOU
California Wildfire Live Updates: Officials Say 5 Dead As Another Fire Breaks Out In Hollywood Hills
Google’s Gmail Upgrade—Do Not Lose Your Account
5 Reasons Why The Los Angeles Wildfires Are The Start Of A New Normal

"Even more so for those who can enjoy him up close: the fans, teammates, the coach, all of Real Madrid. For me he's a great gift, especially because of the way he prepares for this type of game. He prepares them as if they were a final, he is a very important example for young people," Ancelotti added.

As an exemplary, elite athlete who keeps himself in such impeccable condition to the extent that he can still operate at the top level approaching his 40th birthday, we can probably expect Modric to recover in time for a potential final against Madrid's arch nemesis FC Barcelona on Sunday, after the Catalans saw off Athletic Club 2-0 in the competition's other last four fixture.

With the Ballon d'Or winner ruled out for the task in hand, though, this increases the chances of Arda Guler entering the fray at some point of the proceedings as a midfielder and not on one of the wings.