(Football news) Real Madrid had a perfect start to the season with 9 wins out of 9 games. The international break has ruined things a little as Luka Modric and Thibaut Courtois came back with injuries. On top of that Los Blancos dropped 2 points at home against Osasuna which was the first match they failed to win this season. Luka Modric has reportedly returned to training but Courtois is expected to be sidelined for a few more matches. According to reports the Belgian is planning to return to match fitness in time for the El Clasico which means that he will miss the home and away fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk as well as the away game against Getafe.

Courtois is one of the biggest reasons why Real Madrid managed to win the double last season. He is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world and his absence will be felt by the Merengues. Real Madrid's 2nd choice goalkeeper Andriy Lunin did show great signs last season but he is nowhere near Courtois's level. The Ukrainian is very inexperienced but it is a good opportunity for him to show his quality. More than Lunin himself, the challenge will be for the Real Madrid defenders. All of them are used to playing with Courtois but now they will have to adjust. The biggest hurdle for them would be to trust Lunin.

Real Madrid have a jam packed fixture list and once the Copa del Rey starts, Lunin will be playing in that competition at least for the first two rounds. If he does perform well in these 3 matches then Ancelotti may be tempted to let him play the Copa del as far as Madrid goes in the competition. The Italian manager has already said that the players playing the World Cup knockouts will get a holiday after the tournament which means that if Belgium reach the semi finals, Lunin will be playing the first few matches of January. Real Madrid fans will be seeing a lot of Lunin this season and it will determine whether he is good enough to be Real Madrid's first choice goalkeeper.

Also read: Osasuna end Real Madrid's win streak; Barcelona & Atlético get wins