Yet another Real Madrid professional has torn his cruciate ligament. Dani Carvajal’s injury cast a dark shadow over the home win against Villarreal on Saturday evening.
Fears were already running high when Dani Carvajal let out a scream, and even more so when he was carried off the pitch in tears. That same night, the bitter truth was confirmed: the 32-year-old right-back has torn his cruciate ligament in the home game against Villarreal and will be out of action for Real Madrid for many months.
Even before the club made an official statement, Carvajal himself took to Instagram to break the news that very same night. “I will need surgery and will be out for several months,” he wrote, not without the fighting postscript: ‘I can’t wait to start my rehab and come back like a beast.’ On Sunday morning, Real clarified: Carvajal had not only torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, but also the outer collateral ligament and the popliteal tendon.
The accident happened against Villarreal in injury time when Carvajal tried to knock away a ball on the sidelines, but opponent Yeremi Pino spied it away, causing the former to hit the latter instead and twist his right knee in the process. His cries of pain were clearly audible both in the stadium and on TV.
The 2-0 home win, which saw the still unbeaten Royal Family draw level with leaders FC Barcelona (today at 4:15 pm at Deportivo Alaves) in the table on points for the time being, was pushed into the background as a result. “Only Dani is important, not the win,” explained Fede Valverde, who scored in the 14th minute to make it 1-0.
“Something has happened that often happens due to the busy schedule”
Even coach Carlo Ancelotti already suspected that Carvajal had been badly hurt. “It looks like a pretty serious knee injury. The players are sad and worried because something has happened that often happens due to the busy schedule, and it has affected a very, very important player of ours.” At the same time, Ancelotti publicly supported Carvajal’s first representative Lucas Vazquez.
Last season, which he crowned with his sixth Champions League triumph and the European Championship title with Spain, vice-captain Carvajal played 41 competitive games for Real alone. With him, the cruciate ligament misery of the Madrileneans continues. In 2023/24, Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Eder Militao were all out for a long time with the same injury. Alaba’s comeback is still pending.
Vinicius Junior suffers injury to the cervical spine
Vinicius Junior’s injury against Villarreal seems to be less serious. The attacker was substituted in the 79th minute after an unfortunate fall. The diagnosis “cervical spine injury” communicated by the club on Sunday sounds worse than it is, according to Spanish media reports. Vinicius Junior should not be out for longer than that.
