Frenkie de Jong played Sunday's El Clasico with a minor hamstring injury which worsened during the game and is now likely to force him into a period on the sidelines.
The Dutchman was woefully off the pace during his 77 minutes on the pitch, failing to make an impact at either end of the field as Real Madrid ran out 2-1 winners.
As it turns out, Sport claim that De Jong was close to missing the game after complaining of a hamstring issue, but he forced himself to play the important game and appears to have taken a risk that has backfired.
De Jong complained of even more pain after his withdrawal from the game and his injury is 'now a reality', with the Dutchman expected to miss some action while he recovers.
He is expected to be unavailable for Wednesday's trip to Rayo Vallecano and could be forced to sit out the visit of Alaves at the end of the month, depending on the result of fresh scans on his hamstring.
