Vinicius Jr hands Real Madrid injury blow ahead of Liverpool match

Early reports suggest the Ballon d’Or runner-up could be out for four weeks

Vini Jr completed the full 90 minutes against Leganes (Getty Images)

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League match against Liverpool after picking up a hamstring injury in the weekend’s 3-0 win over Leganes.

The 24-year-old, who finished runner-up in the Ballon d’Or this year, assisted Kylian Mbappe for the opener and completed 90 minutes against the La Liga minnows.

But his club made a brief statement on Vinicius on Monday afternoon stating that the winger suffered “an injury to the biceps femoris of the left leg”.

Real gave no indication as to the extent of the injury or how long he might be out for, simply suggesting that the injury needs further examination before they can give a timeline. However, reports from Marca in Spain suggest that he could miss “about one month” of action.

The Brazilian has 12 goals and eight assists so far this season, though his absence could see Mbappe deployed in his favoured position against Arne Slot’s side.

Los Blancos announced a squad list for the game against Liverpool, with Vinicius the only notable absentee in a squad that still includes Jude Bellingham and summer signings Endrick and Mbappe.

The defending champions are four points adrift at the top of La Liga and sit 18th in the Champions League table, with six points from their opening four games.

They were beaten 3-1 at the Bernabeu by AC Milan last time out in this competition.

And they face a Liverpool side that is in top form both domestically and in Europe, with the Reds leading the Premier League by eight points and also sitting top of the European table, with four wins from four, including eye-catching results against Bayer Leverkusen and Milan.