Dean Huijsen set for groin scan on international duty as rivals gloat over mounting worries

Dean Huijsen reported groin discomfort while on international duty and is set for imaging to determine the extent. From a rival vantage point, this is a gift. Soft-tissue niggles in a congested calendar rarely vanish overnight, and the timing could not be worse with big games stacked. Fans are already bickering about whether he should be sent back to his club, while some cling to the hope it is tactical rotation. I have seen these turn into month-long sagas. If the scan flags an adductor issue, expect a lengthy spell out and another reminder that depth wins seasons, not wishful thinking.

During the current international window, team staff noted Huijsen experienced groin discomfort and scheduled a scan to clarify the diagnosis. Madrid-based reporters signaled the medical check would follow routine protocol for soft-tissue concerns. The incident occurred around team activities rather than a club session, prompting immediate evaluation given the calendar density and the player's recent workload across league and international commitments.

🚨 CONFIRMED: Dean Huijsen is set to undergo a scan after feeling groin discomfort. @MarioCortegana

@MadridXtra

Impact Analysis

Set aside the noise and the schadenfreude for a moment. Huijsen is a modern centre back with the frame and stride to dominate aerial lanes, plus the composure to pass through the first press. His value is obvious in build-up phases and set-piece defense. When a defender with that profile grabs at the groin, it raises red flags about the adductor complex, which is heavily taxed by lateral shuffles and sudden hip abduction in recovery runs.

From a squad construction angle, this is a headache. Coaches trust his range to defend space, so without him they either drop the line five to seven meters or ask a slower partner to cover channels he cannot. That bends the entire block, drags fullbacks deeper, and blunts counterattacks. In matches where second balls and rest-defense decide margins, losing a mobile stopper is costly.

For the national setup, it interrupts a planned integration arc. Staff were giving him minutes to accelerate chemistry with the next-generation core. Break that rhythm and you invite rust. At club level, he had been trending toward larger responsibility in a rotation that already balances form and fitness. A scan-confirmed strain would force tactical compromises: more cautious pressing triggers, simpler exits under pressure, and greater reliance on veteran game management.

I have covered enough soft-tissue cases to know: the data on recurrence spikes if the return is rushed. If the images hint at even a Grade 2 involvement, medical will preach patience, not heroics.

Reaction

Fans split into camps almost instantly. One group demanded he be sent straight back to his club given that qualification targets are already met, arguing there is zero upside in risking a promising defender for dead-rubber minutes. Another insisted this might be a tactical smokescreen, grumbling that he would have strengthened the back line and questioning the coach’s judgment for sitting him now.

The banter brigade showed up in force. Some rivals joked that a certain Catalan backline had started an early vacation and hoped others would follow suit with El Clasico season looming. Madrid-leaning voices spiraled into injury paranoia, listing recent knocks to senior starters and tacking Huijsen onto the pile, as if the sky is falling every international break. A few went full fatalist, predicting a league collapse and referencing other clubs’ late-season stumbles.

There were measured notes too. Concerned supporters called for an MRI and wished him a quick recovery, while a sharper-eyed contingent blamed previous overuse, pointing at the heavy minutes he logged under a demanding schedule. Then came the doom calls: a handful declared that the team’s best center back would be out for weeks, no nuance, no wait for the scan.

Strip it down and you hear the same chorus every break: anxiety about player welfare, distrust in national-team decision making, and rivals enjoying the discomfort from across the aisle.

Social reactions

Could be a tactical choice, but Huijsen would’ve strengthened the backline. Wonder what De la Fuente’s thinking.

Wheelchair Man♿ (@kader_bava)

He came back injured form the last camp and Xabi played him in every game he was out of form almost every game, I hope he gets enough rest until he’s fully fit again

AZ✨ (@AF_Z002)

I hope isn't serious injury 🙄😢

galaticos (@galaticosfriad1)

Prediction

If the scan shows a clean result, he will still feel tightness for several days and likely miss at least one fixture as a precaution. That is the optimistic script. The realistic rival view: adductor involvement is common in this pattern, and a Grade 1 to 2 strain would sideline him 3 to 8 weeks, with reconditioning extending the runway. I have seen this movie too often to buy the 10-day fairy tale.

Expect the medical team to sequence rest, anti-inflammatories, isometrics, and progressive adductor loading before any return to max-speed change of direction. The club will throttle minutes on his comeback, pairing him with a conservative partner and simplifying his distribution asks to reduce chaotic rotations. In the meantime, set-piece assignments will be reshuffled and the last line will sit a notch deeper to protect the channels he usually patrols.

Rivals will pounce. Target long diagonals into the half-spaces, isolate the replacement center back, and force defending in wide transition. If the imaging hints at anything beyond a minor strain, circle 6 to 10 weeks as the window before he looks like himself. The schedule will not wait, and the table rarely forgives soft-tissue optimism.

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Conclusion

Huijsen’s talent is real and respected. He reads flight early, cleans up messy sequences with calm feet, and has the frame to bully aerials without sacrificing mobility. That is exactly why this groin flag matters. Soft-tissue problems nibble at confidence, then at mechanics. Push too soon and you invite a relapse right when the season crests. I have watched proud squads gamble and pay twice.

From the rival perch, the calculus is simple: squeeze now. Force the backups to defend space, drag the block side to side, and test set-piece discipline without a tall, reliable marker. Even if the scan is kind, the staff will manage him cautiously, which means minutes shaved and rhythm disrupted. If the scan is unkind, the timeline stretches, the dominoes fall, and the narrative turns to grit over gloss.

Either way, the edge tilts away from his side in the short term. Depth decides titles and trophies, not bravado. This is the moment when a polished academy product or a forgotten squad piece must step into the light. And rivals will be waiting, grinning, to make that learning curve as steep as possible.