Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is out again with a knee injury after tearing his cruciate ligament. The 31-year-old Belgian suffered an injury to the meniscus of his right knee during training, as the Spanish football record champions announced on Tuesday.
Courtois left the training ground in tears and with his worst fears, Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported. Courtois tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee last August and only returned to team training last week. Coach Carlo Ancelotti recently promised an early return.
Bayern boss Eberl: “Real Madrid hasn’t contacted us”
How long he will be out for is unclear. Real Madrid did not provide any information on this. The investigation into the injury has “not yet been completed,” the club said in a statement. The usually well-informed sports newspaper “Marca” wrote that the season was over for Courtois and that tests had revealed a torn meniscus. The portal “The Athletic” reported a downtime of around seven weeks.
Participation in the European Championships in Germany this summer is also questionable for other reasons. Last June there was a dispute between the goalkeeper and national coach Domenico Tedesco. Courtois was reportedly upset that the German coach did not make him captain of the team in a European Championship qualifier.
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Meanwhile, Munich’s sports director Max Eberl has spoken out about FC Bayern professional Alphonso Davies, who is courted by Real Madrid. The decision about a contract extension at FC Bayern now clearly rests with the left-back. “I can say: We made Alphonso a very concrete, appreciative offer. At some point in life you have to say yes or no,” Eberl told “Sport Bild”.
According to “Sport Bild”, Davies has received a final offer from Bayern, which will no longer be improved financially. Eberl said about Spanish media reports that Davies had already reached an agreement with Real Madrid about a move: “Real Madrid have not contacted us.”
Davies’ contract with the German record champions expires in the summer of 2025. If the 23-year-old does not want to extend his stay in Munich, a sale this summer would not be unlikely. “No club wants to lose players for free,” Munich’s new sports director admitted when he was introduced in February.
