Toni Kroos added a fresh blow to a depleted Real Madrid ahead of Sunday's trip to in-form Real Sociedad with the German midfielder the latest of several key players ruled out.
Kroos missed training on Saturday with a minor muscle problem and joins the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo and injured Karim Benzema, Mateo Kovacic and Jesus Vallejo on the sidelines.
"Toni has felt discomfort and we are not going to risk anything," Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said on Saturday.
"In the course of the season there are complicated moments and that's what we have now with injuries."
Real already trail rivals Barcelona by four points in the Primera Liga title race after just three games.
Sociedad meanwhile are level with Barca at the top of the table after their best start to a league season since 1981.
Ronaldo showed Madrid what they have been missing in draws against Valencia and Levante as he returned to score twice in a comfortable 3-0 win over Apoel Nicosia in the Uefa Champions League in midweek.
However, the World Player of the Year is absent once more as he completes his five-game domestic ban for pushing a referee in the Spanish Super Cup.
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"We need to think that this is our last game with Cristiano out," Zidane said.
"We need him, he is an important player, but we have a squad good enough to do well even when he isn't there.
"Tomorrow we can't count on many players that normally play, but I believe in my players that we will perform well."
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