UPDATED: 14:17 10/08/2023
Real Madrid have had the worst news confirmed by their medical department, after one of their best players left training on a stretcher this Thursday.
Los Blancos are just two days away from the beginning of the 2023-24 season, where they will clash with Athletic Club at San Mames. Yet it they will be without Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after he left the pitch on a stretcher.
📌 Las primeras valoraciones de Courtois hacen temer por una rotura del cruzado anterior.
✍️ @sergiofernan5ez pic.twitter.com/YsIQccFfx9
— Relevo (@relevo) August 10, 2023
Courtois reportedly left the pitch in tears, and could be out for around 9 months following the usual diagnosis, although if his recovery goes well, he could be back in April for the final stages of the season.
Since the initial report, his injury has been confirmed by Real Madrid as an ACL tear in his right knee, and he will be operated on in the coming days.
Courtois, 31, suffered from injury issues in his back last season, and missed a number of weeks of action, with Andriy Lunin filling in.
Carlo Ancelotti has been keen to bring in a more experienced back-up for Courtois for some time, but it looks as if he may be relying on the Ukrainian for the first week at least of the La Liga season.
With Courtois missing for most of it, this injury could have a major impact on Real Madrid’s season. Time and again, Courtois has bailed out the Real Madrid defence in recent seasons, and many see him as the best goalkeeper in the world.
