Real Madrid pair struggled with news of Thibaut Courtois’ injury setback | OneFootball

An insight into the knock-on effect of the injury setback suffered by Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois on the rest of the club’s squad has today been provided.

It is of course now 48 hours on from shot-stopper Courtois rocking Real Madrid to its very core.

This comes after the Belgian international, in the final stretch of his recovery from an ACL tear all the way back in August, suffered the most untimely of setbacks.

After going to ground clutching his knee whilst training at Valdebebas, Courtois was subsequently helped back to the dressing room in a flood of tears.

The serious nature of the situation, in turn, became clear, with an ensuing round of medical tests having confirmed that the former Chelsea man had been diagnosed with a ruptured internal meniscus in his right knee.

Courtois has since been forced under the knife as a result, set to sit out the remainder of the campaign without having taken to the pitch in a competitive setting even once.

It should therefore come as little surprise to hear that the 32-year-old’s latest blow has had a profound impact across Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

After departing for international duty this week, a whole host of Real’s stars are understood to have made contact with their stricken teammate, to wish him a speedy recovery.

What may come as more of a surprise, though, is the revelation that two of those to have been most deeply affected, are the players whom Courtois would have been in direct competition with for game-time.

As per a report from Relevo, fellow goalkeepers Andriy Lunin and Kepa Arrizabalaga ‘handled Courtois’ injury the worst’.

The trio are understood to have become very close over the course of the season, with the latter having acted as a source of advice for Lunin and Kepa alike.

The latter was in attendance at Valdebebas when his teammate went to ground, visibly shaken by events, with Lunin having been left in a ‘low mood’ by news of Courtois’ fresh injury, after travelling to Sarajevo with the Ukrainian national team.

Conor Laird | GSFN