Trent Alexander-Arnold Injury: How Many Real Madrid Games Will He Miss? Will He Be Fit for Clasico and Anfield Return?

Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a hamstring injury inside the opening five minutes of his Champions League debut for Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

The former Liverpool star, who moved to Spain in June seeking a new challenge, was forced off early in the 2-1 win over Marseille at the Bernabeu and is expected to be sidelined for at least a month, with a six-week absence possible.

That timeline puts two huge dates firmly in the spotlight — El Clasico against Barcelona in October and his Anfield homecoming in November.

How many games will Trent Alexander-Arnold miss with hamstring injury?

If Alexander-Arnold is ruled out for four to six weeks, he could miss up to seven matches for Madrid across La Liga and the Champions League.

The run of games includes important domestic clashes against Espanyol, Villarreal and Getafe, plus European trips to Kairat Almaty and Juventus.

A return in mid-October would see him back in time for the Clasico, but if recovery takes the full six weeks, he will miss Barcelona’s visit and only return in early November.

Clasico availability in doubt

The first Clasico of the season is scheduled for October 26 at the Bernabeu. That date is just under six weeks from the Marseille game, making it a genuine race against time for Alexander-Arnold.

Madrid are hopeful the 26-year-old can recover quickly, but even if fit, Xabi Alonso will need to weigh up the risk of rushing him back into such a high-intensity fixture.

Anfield return still on

If there are no setbacks, Alexander-Arnold should be ready to feature when Madrid travel to Liverpool on November 4.

It would be his first appearance back at Anfield since leaving in the summer, and the tie is already shaping up as one of the standout fixtures of the Champions League league phase.

The situation with Dani Carvajal could also influence Alonso’s selection. Carvajal was sent off for a headbutt against Marseille and is automatically suspended for the next European match against Kairat Almaty.

UEFA could yet extend the punishment to cover Juventus — and possibly Liverpool — if the incident is deemed serious enough. That disciplinary uncertainty means Real may be relying on Alexander-Arnold to start at Anfield, provided his hamstring heals in time.

November’s game at Anfield will see two major contenders clash. Liverpool are currently 6/1 joint-favourites with Barcelona in the outright Champions League betting, while Real Madrid are rated as 8/1 shots.

Real Madrid fixtures in September and October

• September 20: Espanyol (H), La Liga
• September 23: Levante (A), La Liga
• September 27: Atletico Madrid (A), La Liga
• September 30: Kairat Almaty (A), Champions League
• October 4: Villarreal (H), La Liga
• October 19: Getafe (A), La Liga
• October 22: Juventus (H), Champions League
• October 26: Barcelona (H), La Liga

Bad news for Alexander-Arnold’s World Cup hopes

With Alexander-Arnold set for zero game time between now and the next international break, he will inevitably miss out on England’s October fixtures against Wales and Latvia through injury.

He was already overlooked by Thomas Tuchel for the September squad against Andorra and Serbia, with the manager preferring Reece James, Djed Spence, Tino Livramento, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ezri Konsa as his full-back options.

That means there will be just two more international windows available to Alexander-Arnold before Tuchel names his provisional squad for the 2026 World Cup — and he is likely to be overlooked again in November due to his lack of game time in the lead up.