Valencia striker Roberto Soldado has been ruled out of his side’s Copa del Rey quarter-final clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday with a thigh injury.

The Spain international picked up the problem in the 5-0 Liga loss to Jose Mourinho’s team on Sunday, leading to him being substituted after 65 minutes in the humbling defeat.

The 27-year-old is los Che’s top scorer this season, finding the back of the net 11 times in La Liga alone, but his absence, coupled with the team having to claw back a two-goal deficit from the first leg, means that Ernesto Valverde’s team will face an uphill battle to make the final of the competition.

Karim Benzema’s strike and an own goal from Jose Guardado helped los Blancos to a 2-0 win in the first leg, and with Soldado unavailable for selection, Mourinho’s side are strong favourites to progress to the last four.