Two important squad players in Lucas Vazquez and Mateo Kovacic will miss the next two to four weeks, meaning Zinedine Zidane will have even more injuries to worry about at the start of the new year.
Both play an important role within the French boss' rotation policy, and Vazquez had been filling in admirably in Gareth Bale's usual spot, him too out with a long term injury.
The players are expected to miss the Sevilla Copa del Rey clashes and perhaps the next few LaLiga matches before making their returns.
Vazquez injured his right calf in the FIFA Club World Cup final, whereas the Croat has a left ankle strain.
Further tests are expected to confirm the diagnosis in the coming days, although it looks almost certain that they will miss the first few matches of 2017.