Thibaut Courtois suffers ACL injury, could miss entire season

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and will undergo surgery in the next few days, the club confirmed in a press release on Thursday afternoon.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper sustained the injury during training. According to Spanish media, including radio station Cadena Cope, he left the pitch in tears. ACL injuries are very serious, with recovery times ranging from six months to a year.

This means that Courtois is likely to miss the entire Spanish football season with Real Madrid. The Belgian has been one of the club's best players in recent seasons, winning two league titles and a Champions League.

The injury is also a blow for Domenico Tedesco. Belgium's head coach fell out with Courtois after the EURO 2024 qualifiers in June and wanted to reconcile with the goalkeeper. According to Belgian media, technical director Frank Vercauteren travelled to Madrid earlier this week to mediate.

^{© BELGA PHOTO LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ}