Thibaut Courtois Injury: Real Madrid ‘keeper set for few more weeks on the sidelines with fresh setback
A Thibaut Courtois injury setback means the custodian’s return from a cruciate ligament injury has been pushed back further by a couple of months. His last appearance for Los Blancos was during their preseason game against Juventus in August 2023.
Now with the latest developments, Courtois could miss this entire season through injury.
Thibaut Courtois Injury: Extent & possible return date
Courtois has been out of action for Real Madrid for about eight months now. He was scheduled to return to training towards the end of March, but that has taken a hit.
As per reports from Fabrizio Romano, the Belgian goalkeeper has suffered a rupture of the internal meniscus of his right knee. This will rule him out for a further seven to eight weeks, with surgery a necessity in order to fix the issue.
For Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid, this unfortunately means they will have to navigate the remainder of the season without the clubâs first-choice goalkeeper. Thibaut Courtoisâ participation for Belgium at the Euros could also be in jeopardy considering the tournament is due to start in June.
However, a Thibaut Courtois injury could be the perfect opportunity for Los Blancosâ Andriy Lunin to repay the faith the club have had in him so far. He has made 23 appearances this season and kept 10 clean sheets, conceding just 19 goals in composed performances.
The Belgianâs career with Los Blancos so far
Thibaut Courtois is one of the rare players to have played over 150 games for both Real Madrid and cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid. He joined Los Blancos from Chelsea in 2018 in a deal worth a reported ÂŁ35 million.
Due to the ongoing âkeeper situation at the club at the time, Courtois became first-choice pretty soon and has gone onto make 230 appearances since, keeping 91 clean sheets.
The Belgian has come up clutch several times for his team and has won them games on his own at times. The biggest and best example of this was Courtois heroic performance against Liverpool in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final. He made nine saves throughout the game as Real Madrid won 1-0 to lift their 14th title.
Besides the UCL, Courtois is a two-time La Liga winner, a Club World Cup winner and also a UEFA Super Cup winners with Real Madrid in his six years with the club so far.