La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid learned some devastating news on Thursday. Their starting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois suffered an ACL injury and will miss the entire 2023-24 campaign as a result.
Courtois was hurt during practice on Tuesday and is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.
“After the tests carried out on our player Thibaut Courtois, he’s been diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee,” said the Spanish club in a statement. “The player will undergo surgery in the coming days.”
Courtois himself addressed the injury in a post shared on Instagram.
“You never expect to go through something like this, but now it’s time to accept it and do everything to overcome it and come back even stronger,” he wrote. “Thanks to everyone for the energy, affection, and support, I assure you it motivates me to recover as soon as possible.”
After his time with Real Madrid got off to a rough start, Thibaut Courtois regained his status as one of the world’s best goalkeepers in recent seasons. He conceded 49 goals in 49 matches in all competitions in 2022-23 while keeping 17 clean sheets. He also won the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award for 2022.
With Courtois out, it remains to be seen how Real proceeds forward. They only have backup Andriy Lunin as a dependable option on goal, and it is expected that they might look to make a late transfer addition. One of the options that could be intriguing is Spaniard David De Gea, who is currently a free agent after his contract with Manchester United expired.
