A cruciate ligament rupture is currently forcing Thibaut Courtois into the role of spectator – which is what awaits the goalkeeper at the upcoming European Championships – regardless of whether he recovers or not. The 31-year-old himself rates his chances as very slim
Belgium qualified for the European Championship with ease, finishing first in Group F ahead of Austria and Sweden. The “Red Devils” did so without their star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who has been out of action since the start of the season anyway due to a cruciate ligament rupture. However, the 31-year-old’s serious injury only masked a problem that had been smouldering since June: the open dispute between the keeper and national team coach Domenico Tedesco.
The issue escalated in June after Belgium’s 1-1 draw against Austria. Courtois had reacted piqued that in the absence of injured captain Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku had been given the captain’s armband and not him. The dispute between the two then intensified. Courtois refused to travel to the game in Estonia, according to Tedesco, because the keeper was “offended and disappointed”. Courtois, in turn, countered with a frontal attack, emphasizing that he had been injured and otherwise not leaving a good hair on Tedesco and his management style. Courtois was particularly annoyed that Tedesco had gone public.
Since then, there has been radio silence between the coach and the Real Madrid goalkeeper, who is one of three remaining candidates for the FIFA World Goalkeeper award alongside Bono from reigning Europa League winners FC Sevilla and Ederson from treble winners Manchester City.
Now Courtois spoke about his situation on Belgian radio and television station VRT’s “Sporza” program. The 31-year-old explained that he assumed that he would “miss the European Championship anyway because of the injury”. “If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to play again in May. But then you’re not 100 percent ready for a big tournament.”
He then turned his attention to Tedesco and made it clear that it was “no problem” for him to “sort things out like two adults”. However, he also pointed out that he did not see any real way to continue working together. “Where is the middle ground after such a breach of trust?”
However, his dispute with Tedesco did not mean that he wanted to resign from the national team. The Real keeper explicitly emphasized this, but the EUROs do not fit in with a perfect comeback. At the EURO, Belgium will face Slovakia, Romania and a play-off winner in Group E.
