ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Redskins have ruled out three starters, including tight end Jordan Reed, and declared two others as doubtful for Sunday’s game at Seattle, further depleting a team that has dealt with a number of injuries in recent weeks.

In addition to Reed, who is battling a hamstring injury, left guard Shawn Lauvao (stinger) and defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis (hand) won’t play. Reserve tight end Niles Paul (concussion) also was ruled out.

Left tackle Trent Williams (knee) and center Spencer Long (knees) are doubtful, along with backup offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe (core muscle).

Meanwhile, six players were listed as questionable, including five starters: wide receiver Jamison Crowder (hamstring), guard Brandon Scherff (knee), running back Rob Kelley (ankle), cornerback Bashaud Breeland (groin) and safety Montae Nicholson (shoulder).

In all, three-fifths of the Redskins’ starting offensive line won’t play, and a fourth, Scherff, is questionable. But Scherff at least participated in practice the past two days, though in limited fashion. Coach Jay Gruden had said Thursday that “things are looking up” in regard to Scherff, and Friday did nothing to alter that outlook.

Crowder could be the biggest question mark. Gruden expressed concern Thursday, and Crowder said his focus remains on the long term. He was hampered by a sore hamstring early in the season but said in recent weeks that it had felt good.

“I don’t want to make it worse and have it lingering for the rest of the season,” Crowder said. “It’s kind of tricky. It feels good at times, and then I go out and work, and it doesn’t feel like bad, but it doesn’t feel I can be as explosive to [where] I feel I can go out and compete at a high level.”

If Crowder can’t play, Ryan Grant could replace him in the slot. Washington also could keep Brian Quick active and use him at the Z receiver position. The Redskins have wanted to avoid using Terrelle Pryor and Josh Doctson together, with Gruden saying they have primarily worked at the X position. But losing Reed and possibly Crowder could force them to look more for Doctson and Pryor, who had a combined four targets Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Cristiano Ronaldo avoided criticising the crop of new players that have recently arrived at Real Madrid after Wednesday’s loss to Tottenham, but conceded that the defending European champion is suffering from a lack of experience.

On the heels of a decisive 3-1 loss to Spurs – Real Madrid’s first group stage defeat since 2012 – and a disappointing defeat to Girona in La Liga last weekend, Ronaldo reflected on the aspects that helped fuel Los Blancos to back-to-back Champions League titles, and identified the losses of Pepe, Alvaro Morata, and James Rodriguez as major factors behind the team’s recent struggles.

“The players who have arrived have a lot of potential but Pepe, Morata, and James made us stronger and the players are younger now,” Ronaldo told reporters, according to Richard Martin of Reuters.

“Our squad isn’t worse, but it’s less experienced and experience is very important. But it’s no excuse and we shouldn’t be alarmed.”

All three players were offloaded this past summer. Pepe joined Turkish side Besiktas, while Morata was sold to Chelsea for £60 million. Rodriguez was shipped off to Germany, where he has begun to feature more frequently for Bayern Munich since joining the defending Bundesliga champion on a two-year loan deal.

(Photo courtesy: Getty)

Real Madrid’s starting team Wednesday was comprised mainly of the stars that have helped add silver to Real Madrid’s trophy case. But the inclusion of 18-year-old defender Achraf Hakimi and second-choice goalkeeper Kiko Casilla in the starting XI, as well as a bench with an average age of 20, backs Ronaldo’s claim that Real Madrid lacks experience.

Despite the consecutive losses, Ronaldo would not get caught up in talk of a crisis and cited the tremendous success since manager Zinedine Zidane took charge of Real Madrid.

“People forget about the good times very quickly. I never talk of a crisis, you can lose three or four games but there’s never a crisis. We can’t forget what we’ve achieved,” he said.

“This is a bad run but we want to turn things around and I’m sure we will. This is only the start of the season, we still have a lot of time to improve and I‘m convinced we will.”