Ezequiel Garay is glad Real Madrid has decided not to dip into the transfer market for a new defender.

Real lost first-choice centre-back Pepe to a knee injury which ruled the Portuguese out for six months.

But according to Goal.com, Garay is confident Real can cope without buying reinforcements.

"It feels like a vote of confidence that the club has decided not to sign any new players. There have been a lot of rumours linking Real with several defenders lately," said Garay to Spanish reporters.

"Now it's up to Christoph Metzelder, Raul Albiol and me to show that we're up for the challenge."