MADRID, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Brahim Diaz's chances of earning a place in Real Madrid's first-team squad for the coming season have suffered a setback after the youngster injured a hamstring during the club's pre-season training camp in Montreal.
The 19-year-old, who joined Madrid from Manchester City for 17 million euros in January, impressed under coach Zinedine Zidane at the end of last season, making nine first-team appearances.
However, the arrival of big-name signings such as Eden Hazard and the recovery of Vinicius Junior from injury mean that places in the squad for this season are limited.
Brahim's injury means he is likely to be out of action for between four and five weeks, which would stretch into the start of the new season, meaning he will not be able to convince Zidane of his ability in any pre-season friendlies.
Several clubs have shown an interest in taking Brahim on loan, and that may be his best option for regular top-flight football this season.
Meanwhile, Spanish sports paper Marca noted that recent Madrid signing Rodrygo may also face difficulty being included in the first-team squad, as he does not have an EU passport and Madrid already have the maximum permitted three non-EU players.
As things stand, Eder Militao, Vinicius and Federico Valverde will be registered as Madrid's three non-EU players, with Rodrygo's place in the squad depending on whether Valverde's EU passport is granted before the start of the season.
If Valverde gets his EU passport in time, Rodrygo would be able to occupy the third of the three non-EU slots, but if not, he too would have to either go out on loan or play for Real Madrid's B team Castilla in the third tier of the Spanish game.
