Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. had to leave the team’s first XI for the Madrid derby on Sunday after pulling up injured during the pre-game warm-up.

The Brazilian was expected to start the match against crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid by partnering compatriot Rodrygo up front.

Less than five minutes before kickoff, however, Spanish outlets such as MARCA began to report that Vinicius had been axed from Carlo Ancelotti’s first team after the surprise development was revealed over the tannoy.

Vinicius had previously been announced in the starting lineup at the Bernabeu, which meant that the correction confused many fans both in and out of the stadium.

As the updated line-ups were unfurled by local broadcaster Movistar on television, though, they showed Brahim Diaz in Vinicius Jr.’s place.

Thankfully for Ancelotti, Brahim’s inclusion meant that he didn’t have to tinker with his formation.

The development isn’t convenient on the whole for the La Liga leaders, however, who also lost Antonio Rudiger for this evening’s fixture and had to field right-back Dani Carvajal in central defense.

In Vinicius, Real Madrid loses arguably the world’s best left winger, who has often caused Diego Simeone’s men damage in the derby.

With a win in the late-night partidazo in Spain, Madrid could edge four points clear of surprise title contenders Girona ahead of playing the Catalans on February 10 and possibly extend that lead to seven.

This is the points deficit that Madrid held over bitter rivals FC Barcelona before kickoff after the Blaugrana suffered a shock 5-3 defeat to Villarreal at the Montjuic Stadium last week, which triggered the June 30 resignation of head coach Xavi Hernandez.

According to MARCA, Vinicius is suffering from a “neck problem,” for which he has already been treated in the locker room, and he could still feature at some point in the derby depending on how well he feels.

In the second half, the forward was seen warming up on the touchline around the hour mark to the delight of those in attendance.

He didn’t make it on to the pitch for the 1-1 draw, though, and if the niggle ends up becoming something more serious, it will become Vini’s third injury of the season.

The 23-year-old has recently returned to his best form after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, which included him sinking Barca with a 32-minute hat trick in a Spanish Super Cup final edition of El Clasico comfortably won 4-1 by Los Blancos last month.

As things now seem, he should be good to go against Girona and for Real Madrid, recognising their Champions League campaign in which they face RB Leipzig in the last nine days from now.