Real Madrid suffered a very hard blow this morning two days after their debut in the League in San Mamés, against Athletic. The Belgian goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, one of the firmest assets of the team in recent years, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in training in Valdebebas, from which he withdrew sobbing and visibly grimacing in pain.
The injury is one of the most serious that a footballer can suffer. The player will undergo surgery in the coming days. Right now the club is assessing where to operate on him and has several options. The minimum recovery time is calculated at nine months. If everything goes well, Courtois could reappear throughout April.
The injury to Courtois, 31, catches Real Madrid with only one goalkeeper on the squad, Andrei Lunin, 24, a Ukrainian goalkeeper who has not quite convinced despite the opportunities he has had and who has been close to leave Madrid this summer. A few days ago, Madrid sold the third goalkeeper on the squad, Luis López, 21, to Mirandés.
This being the case, it cannot be ruled out that Madrid urgently try to get a guaranteed goalkeeper to make up for Courtois’s absence. In fact, this summer he was testing Getafe goalkeeper David Soria, 30, a former La Fábrica youth squad. There was no agreement on the price.
Meanwhile, Madrid can also shoot with the two Castilla goalkeepers: Lucas Cañizares (Santi Cañizares’ son) and Mario de Luis. Neither of them has made their debut with the first team yet.
