Dani Carvajal has been ruled out of action with a heart problem, with Marca reporting that the Real Madrid defender could be out of action for up to six weeks.

Carvajal will not be in the Madrid squad to take on Espanyol at the Bernabeu on Sunday, with a club statement saying he “has been diagnosed with a viral pericardium infection.”

The statement said the full-back’s “recovery will continue to be assessed.”

He has previously played every minute for Zinedine Zidane’s side in La Liga this season, and the setback means he drops out of the Spain squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Israel.

Earlier this month, Carvajal signed a two-year contract extension and said he would be “delighted” to be Real Madrid captain in the future.