Antonio Rudiger injury scare has Germany and Real Madrid on alert | OneFootball

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger is the heart of Germany’s defence which they are hoping will see them win Euro 2024, but his status ahead of the knockout stages is unknown. The 31-year-old appears to have injured himself during the celebrations of Germany’s 92nd minute equaliser against Switzerland.

Rudiger stayed down after the celebrations, and did not appear to have any muscle issues beforehand, but could be seen holding his thigh after. Presumably if the issue had occurred much earlier, he would have been subbed off as a precaution.

“Toni has a small problem with his thigh. We’ll have to see what happens. I hope it’s nothing serious. We’ll see, it could be quite problematic,” Julian Nagelsmann explained to Diario AS in his post-match press conference.

The veteran seems unlikely to have done any serious damage, but even just a week’s absence could see him ruled out until the semi-finals depending on how the fixtures fall. Germany are also without his partner Jonathan Tah due to suspension, after he picked up his second yellow card against the Swiss, meaning if Rudiger does not recover in time, their next game would likely see Waldemar Anton and Robin Koch in the middle of defence.