Real Madrid have confimed that Eder Militao suffered a complete tear of his anterior cruciate ligament after collapsing to the ground during the 4-0 win over Osasuna.The
Militao suffered a horror injury during Saturday’s win / Diego Souto/GettyImages
The Brazilian was about to compete for the ball in Osasuna’s penalty area when he crumpled to the floor unchallenged having planted his right foot into the turf.
Militao screamed in agony and immediately clutched his knee as worried teammates quickly gathered around him. Medical personnel soon arrived on the scene, treating the 26-year-old for a number of minutes, before he was stretchered off in front of a dismayed Santiago Bernabeu crowd.Madrid, 15-time winners of the Champions League, have since confirmed in a statement that Miltao has suffered a complete tear of his ACL, also suffering damage to both menisci. He is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days and, although the club have failed to put a timeline on his recovery, is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
It’s not the first time that Militao has suffered a torn ACL. He sustained the exact same injury in his left knee 15 months ago, in a La Liga game with Athletic Club, and was ruled out for most of the 2023/24 season.
Madrid ended up winning Saturday’s game 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Vinicius Junior and a first strike of the season from Jude Bellingham, but the game was overshadowed by the injuries sustained by not only Militao but also Rodrygo and Lucas Vazquez.Brazilian forward Rodrygo, restored to the starting lineup as Ancelotti switched to a 4-3-3 formation, lasted just 20 minutes before leaving the pitch in tears. The Brazilian appeared to damage his hamstring and, despite attempting to carry on, was forced off in order to strap an ice pack to his thigh.
Captain Vazquez, filling in at right-back because of Dani Carvajal’s long-term injury, also appeared to sustain a hamstring issue. The Spaniard tried to play on, limping through until half-time, but was replaced by Luka Modric for the second half – Federico Valverde switching to play as an emergency right-back
Madrid are also currently without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while David Alaba has yet to return to action after suffering his own ACL tear last December.