Vinicius Jr Slams UEFA as Real Madrid Star is Ruled Out of Liverpool Clash

Vinicius Jr. has been ruled out of Real Madrid's Champions League match against Liverpool on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, which has prompted the Brazilian to criticize the congested fixture schedule.

The winger, who played a full part in Sunday's 3-0 win over Leganes, will not travel to Merseyside after the reigning champions confirmed he sustained an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg.

Vinicius is expected to be sidelined for around three weeks, and in a social media post, he blamed the packed calendar, particularly the expansion of the Champions League, saying: "Crazy calendar. Time to recover."

Carlo Ancelotti will also be without Lucas Vazquez and Aurelien Tchouameni for the crucial fixture, which carries more significance for Real Madrid than for Liverpool. The Spanish giants are currently in 18th place, while Liverpool tops the table with a perfect record after four games.

With several key players missing, Ancelotti is likely to continue using Francisco Valverde at right-back, with the manager joking that Valverde is now the best in the world in that position, amid rumors linking Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold with a move to Madrid next summer.

“Lucas and Tchouameni… we don’t know, but we’ll try to get them back. The truth is that Fede, at the back, did very well,” Ancelotti said after the Leganes win. Valverde, he’s a fantastic full-back. After Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, he’s the best right-back in the world.

"His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and the coach’s problem is choosing his best position for the team. But I liked him at the back, he has incredible speed. We’ll see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we’ll make decisions.”

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Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, and Eder Militao are also unavailable for Real Madrid, while Rodrygo is a doubt for the match.

At Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold, one of three key players out of contract this summer, is expected to miss out after being absent in Sunday's dramatic comeback win at Southampton, which extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points. The Reds are still without their first-choice goalkeeper, Alisson Becker.