Real Madrid has lost Vinicius Jr. for almost a month.
Real Madrid has lost Vinicius Jr. for almost a month following an incident in El Sadar.
The Brazilian was again sensational with the ball against Osasuna, scoring his fifth and sixth goals there in a 4-2 win that helped Madrid seal at least an eight-point lead at the La Liga summit heading into the international break.
As if often the case, however, Vinicius' afternoon wasn't allowed to play out without incident.
In the first half, he was booked for seemingly laughing at the match official which resulted in his fourth consecutive yellow card.
This means that Vinicius is now banned for Los Blancos' first La Liga meeting after international football has taken over the calendar for a couple of weeks.
On Sunday March 31, in the late night partidazo in Spain, Madrid will host Athletic Club at the Bernabeu in what will be Jude Bellingham's comeback from his own suspension.
At the end of a match that Vinicius, according to Relevo, initially refused to attend over a social media post that threw his relationship with the club into 'crisis', the Englishman was red-carded for swearing at Gil Manzano after thinking he had headed home the winner in a 2-2 draw influenced by another brace from the Brazilian.
Bellingham called the three-match ban "ridiculous" but has been made to see it out after an appeal was refused.
Yet when he gets kitted up against the Basques at the end of the month, he won't have Vinicius playing in front of him while manning the tip of attacking midfield.
In light of this, Vinicius now can't be seen in a Madrid shirt for 24 days, which Spanish outlets are reporting as him being out for a month.
Though there is no international break in April for the wider world, La Liga will pause for its first fortnight because of the Copa del Rey final featuring Athletic Club and Mallorca.
In other words, Vinicius won't don his iconic number 7 jersey previously graced by idol Cristiano Ronaldo until the first Champions League quarterfinals tie against a Manchester City side Carlo Ancelotti described as one of "the best in Europe" on April 9.
That doesn't mean Vinicius won't play at the Bernabeu, however, considering a Brazil showdown with Spain he has there - in what will be Endrick's debut at the ground before completing a transfer from Palmeiras - a few days after taking on Bellingham's England for the Selecao.
Some worry that Vinicius won't stay fresh despite these fixtures, but the only way to remedy this is by controlling "himself a little better", and not picking up so many yellow cards, as Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti advised post match on Saturday.
