One became two, two became four, four became eight, and on Saturday, Luka Modric made it nine. Real Madrid, says Marca, have “their fingers crossed.” But maybe they need to do more than that. 

Right now, Real Madrid’s players might be well served by wrapping their lucky coins in their favourite handkerchiefs and, after being careful to put on their left shoe first while steering clear of mirrors and ladders, go four-leaf clover hunting at night in a field devoid of black cats in the hope of standing under a shooting star.

Any Carlos Kamenis would probably be worth avoiding, too. 

For Real Madrid, the international break and the renowned “FIFA virus” proved particularly savage this time around. After Karim Benzema suffered a hamstring strain in France’s victory over Armenia last Thursday, Modric was substituted at half-time in Croatia’s meeting with Bulgaria on Saturday with an abductor complaint, becoming the ninth Real Madrid player to succumb to injury already this season. 

Significantly, five of the nine who’ve been injured still are, Real Madrid now significantly depleted ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Levante. It could be the same story for the following week’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain, too. 

“Rafa Benitez will have to get to work on his blackboard,” was the summation from Marca. 

Perhaps most concerning about Real Madrid’s nonet of injuries this season is not the number, but the nature of them. The collision injuries aside, Benzema, Modric, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez have now all suffered the sort of soft-tissue problems that, when repetitive, raise questions about a club’s training procedures and management of workloads. 

Under Benitez, a known advocate of sport science, it’s somewhat surprising; his methods theoretically guard against problems of this kind. Evidently, though, something isn’t quite working at Valdebebas. 

If there is a small positive in such a situation for Madrid, however, it’s that the club’s supporting cast has an opportunity to show Real’s squad depth isn’t an illusion. 

During the summer, much was made of the way Los Blancos compiled almost a secondary XI through their transfer activity.

In defence, Danilo and Kiko Casilla were signed; in midfield, Casemiro was recalled from Porto and Mateo Kovacic was bought from Inter Milan; in attack, Lucas Vazquez and Denis Cheryshev returned from stints away. Additionally, the likes of Jese and Nacho had another year of progression behind them. 

Though the first-choice XI was largely left intact, the bench was given a reality program-like makeover, the idea clearly to give Benitez tactical options and the ability to rotate. Basically, Real Madrid would no longer be sticking to a rigid XI and using Isco as a sort of 12th man—as cover for, well, anywhere. 

But here’s the thing: Numerically, Real Madrid’s depth this season is no different to last; the feeling of greater depth is tied to a perception of quality rather than quantity. 

Thus, what we have is a belief rather than a fact. The strength in depth isn’t actually real until it proves itself to be.

And that’s now the supporting cast’s task. 

To date, Kovacic has looked bright in series of encouraging performances, while Casemiro already looks every bit the sort of midfield anchor this team has needed for some time. But in attack, genuine depth remains a somewhat uncertain commodity. 

In Jese, Vazquez and Cheryshev, Real Madrid have an attacking trio in reserve that initially strikes you as extremely useful.

Two seasons ago, Jese exploded on to the scene; last season, the latter two enjoyed breakout campaigns themselves, albeit elsewhere. What’s more, as a trio, they cover all three areas—down the middle, right and left—and with all in their early 20s, they’re close to their physical peaks as well. 

On paper, then, it looks ideal. But in practice, well, no one’s quite sure. 

Jese has started two games this season, and Real Madrid failed to score in both. In Vazquez’s only start, Madrid scored once, and that was against Granada, of all sides. 

In total, the three attacking back-ups have played 289 minutes between them in 2015-16 and have been directly involved in just two goals in that time. For comparison, Rodriguez on his own has been directly involved in three in just 124. 

Admittedly, the new season is still young, and Real Madrid’s collective displays against Sporting Gijon, Granada and Malaga when Jese or Vazquez started were hardly fluent—the misfiring didn’t just occur because of them.

However, the early signs must not become a trend for the squad’s second-string forwards. For Real Madrid to triumph this season, the team must be able to cope with both injuries and Benitez’s rotation, and that means maintaining dynamism and potency even when the grand-daddy XI isn’t in use. 

Essentially, there can’t be a colossal drop off when Jese is used instead of Bale, or when Vazquez is used instead of Rodriguez. The back-ups have to make an impact, and Saturday’s clash with Levante is an immediate chance to do so. A chance in which they must.

For such games, with Champions League nights that quickly follow, are also the sort of outings in which Benitez will look to rotate his squad even in the absence of injuries. At the end of October, the visit of Las Palmas is another, sandwiched between a trip to Celta Vigo and the visit of Paris Saint-Germain. 

All summer, Real Madrid made strengthening the supporting cast, their depth, a priority. Now that supporting cast must prove the strength in depth isn’t just a perception, but that it is in fact real.

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