Dean Huijsen sent for tests as Real Madrid's defensive issues pile up

Dean Huijsen has been sent for medical tests to clarify a mystery issue, adding yet another headache to Real Madrid’s already stretched defense. Club insiders describe it as precautionary, but the mood around Valdebebas is tense given the recent pattern of setbacks. From what I’m hearing, staff want full clarity before any return to team activities. The timing is awful with a congested run against high-press sides and European knockout demands on the horizon. Madrid fans are already split - some call it a minor bump, others fear a repeat of their long list of defensive absences.

Madrid-based reporters close to the club indicate Huijsen alerted staff to discomfort ahead of training, prompting immediate clinical checks at a local facility partnered with the team’s medical department. The club intends to run a comprehensive panel - from viral screening to soft tissue imaging - to rule out both short-term illness and any underlying load management flags common in young center backs. The decision follows a week of reduced minutes and modified gym work, which had quietly raised internal questions. With key fixtures looming, the technical staff want a definitive diagnosis before mapping next steps.

🚨 NEW: Dean Huijsen to undergo medical tests to determine what he has. @GuillermoRai_

@MadridXtra

Impact Analysis

From a rival camp perspective, this is Madrid’s worst pattern repeating itself. Another defender flagged, another scramble. Even if initial scans come back clean, a player pulled for tests rarely returns at full throttle inside a week. Young center backs often carry hidden load issues - growth-related imbalances, hamstring irritations, minor groin strains that linger when workload spikes. Madrid have a history of pushing timelines, then circling back when symptoms resurface. Expect more of the same.

Tactically, it forces Ancelotti to juggle again. Antonio Rudiger becomes an every-minute leader. Aurélien Tchouaméni at emergency center back is back on the whiteboard. Full backs will be asked to sit five to eight meters deeper in rest defense, limiting overlap combos and slowing ball progression. Set-piece coverage becomes fragile without a full complement of natural aerial stoppers, inviting opponents to target the back post and second phases.

Fixture density magnifies the risk. La Liga’s pressing sides and the European knockouts punish any hesitation in the first line of buildup. If Huijsen is managed conservatively - which he should be - Madrid’s rotations tighten, fatigue rises, and errors multiply late in games. For a squad already living on fine margins, this is exactly the crack you attack.

Reaction

Fan chatter paints a messy picture. Plenty are laughing it off, but the through-line is fatigue and sarcasm. One quips this is “David Alaba 2.0,” another jokes he’s waiting for “golden hour lighting” to announce a new home, and more than a few link it to the same stomach bug talk that followed Courtois. There’s frustration that a signing meant to plug gaps is now adding to them. The Bournemouth line - a dig at smaller-club syndrome - sums up the skepticism: tough moments, light experience, reliability in doubt.

Mixed in are reasonable voices hoping it’s a minor bump, yet even those concede timing is brutal. Others point at the pattern - “always injured,” “he’s 20 and not getting kicked every week,” “Cibeles come help us” - a blend of gallows humor and resignation. What’s telling is how quickly comparisons cascade to Madrid’s broader medical narrative. Supporters are no longer evaluating each setback in isolation. They see a system problem - recruitment gambles on availability, cautious load management that still backfires, and constant fire-fighting at center back.

In short, the patience reservoir is low. Even if tests are clear, the trust deficit remains.

Social reactions

Hope it's just a minor bump

BLOCKXS.COM (@blockxs)

Chenua Achibe once said?😂

Yaw oxlade (@JR_Juac)

Why is he always getting injured ? He's just a 20 year old CB ... not like he's playing where he's getting fouled

ROYAL_KAISERR (@ROYAL_KAISERR)

Prediction

I don’t buy the optimistic spin. Best case, he’s eased back after an assessment cycle that drags beyond a week. Worst case - and it’s a live one - you’re looking at a stop-start month with managed workloads, missed full sessions, and conservative minutes off the bench. Madrid will frame it as prudence, but it reads like necessity when you’re taping together a back line.

This has clear knock-on effects. Expect Tchouaméni to log emergency center back minutes in specific away fixtures. Dani Carvajal will be asked to pinch in when chasing a game, unbalancing the right flank. Rudiger’s workload tilts into red-zone territory, which invites its own risk. Opponents will flood the left half-space, force transitions, and test aerial duels with targeted diagonals. Madrid’s buildout gets flatter, more predictable, and easier to press.

Short-term results may hold if the attack outscores problems, but over three to five matches the margins cave. If the diagnosis is anything beyond a simple bug, do not expect him fully integrated before the next international window. And if symptoms linger, Madrid will be back in the market sooner than they want to admit.

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Conclusion

Call it what it is: another wobble in a long line of defensive stumbles. Even if tests show nothing dramatic, the disruption alone costs rhythm, drills, and trust. For a 20-year-old still below 30 senior matches, every interrupted week slows adaptation. Madrid can dress it up, but the blueprint is familiar - reshuffle, overplay key pieces, and pray the forwards bail them out.

From the outside, rivals will scent weakness. Press the first pass, crowd the channels, hammer set pieces. Make Madrid defend volume. If Huijsen’s timeline extends - and history suggests it will - the league becomes a sprint they can’t control and Europe turns into risk management rather than dominance. The fans feel it too. The jokes mask a simple truth: the back line is a problem they still haven’t solved, and this latest twist only widens the crack.

Until tests translate to consistent minutes on the pitch, assume the delay. That’s the safe bet, and the one recent seasons keep winning.