Dani Carvajal confirms he has a ‘serious cruciate ligament injury’ | Football | Sport

Three and a half hours after Dani Carvajal left the Bernabeu on a stretcher, he confirmed via his social networks that he has a “serious cruciate ligament injury” that will force him to undergo surgery and that he will be “several months away from Bernabeu.” playground.” The club has not yet provided a medical report. “I’m already looking forward to starting my recovery and coming back like a beast,” he wrote in a note posted around 2:30 a.m.

The accident occurred during Madrid’s match with Villarreal (2:0). In the final minute of stoppage time, in an almost irrelevant area, the 32-year-old defender collided with Jeremi Pinault, and images of him, his gestures of pain and the suffering of his teammates sparked pessimism. The Whites are also awaiting a medical examination of Vinicius, who retired in the 80th minute with a cervical problem. “He is completely blocked,” said Carlo Ancelotti.

This will be Carvajal’s fourth broken cross in 15 months in Madrid. In August 2023, Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militau fell in just three days, followed by David Alaba in December of the same year. The 32-year-old Austrian is yet to return and, although he is in the final stages of his recovery, his return date is unknown as well as what kind of performance he will be able to produce after such a serious injury, for which his rehabilitation is ongoing. takes longer than average. He had an arthroscopy last May.

The striker’s injury is another blow to the line of the team most affected by physical problems and possessing the fairest figures. The question is whether the club will enter the winter market. Recently, this option has been excluded, although the instability of the situation is obvious. 10 months ago, when Alaba’s injury left the defense with only two available centre-backs (Rudiger and Nacho), the company quickly decided it would not sign anyone. Ancelotti had to switch to prop Tchuameni and he moved to Carvajal within four months of Militao’s return.

And last summer, Nacho left for Saudi Arabia, the loan of young Leni Yoro fell through at the last minute, and the team was left with only two healthy central defenders (Rudiger and Militao), waiting for when and how Alaba would return. But the organization did not decide to sign the agreement even then. Jesus Vallejo remained in the locker room despite the coaching staff not trusting him.

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While Carvajal is in the hospital, the first alternative to the Italian coach is Lucas Vazquez, a winger turned defender over the past five years. In the past, Valverde and Militau have also been very sporadic in this position. “Lucas Vazquez gives us a lot of confidence. During this break we will have time to talk about this topic (possible signings), given that the market is closed and there are not many options. We have to manage the team well and see, in the absence of the only right-back we currently have, namely Lucas Vazquez, who to put in that position,” commented Ancelotti when Carvajal’s connection was still unknown.

The fallen winger, who has 1,060 minutes between his club and country (85% of the possible total), has positioned himself very clearly in recent weeks regarding the busy calendar and the risk of injury caused by the accumulation of matches. Coincidentally, so did his teammate Rodri, who broke his cruciate cruciate during the City v Arsenal game a week ago. This is the most serious injury of Carvajal’s career. Three and four seasons ago he suffered from constant breaks in training due to muscle problems, which, after much frustration, he managed to overcome with changes in diet. But I’ve never encountered a horizon of several months. La Roja will also pay for his absence. He was not included in Luis de la Fuente’s list this Friday due to sanctions, but he is one of the undisputed.

Carvajal’s misfortune left another emotional victim: Jeremi Pinault. The Villarreal player, who has just returned from a torn ACL suffered at the end of November 2023, appeared in a photograph of Ter Stegen’s broken ACL two weeks ago. “I spent five minutes playing and crying,” he admitted that day on DAZN. And this Saturday the fight with the Madrid man in a regular fight amazed him again.

On the way to 2-0 and before Carvajal’s misfortune struck, Madrid discovered Eduardo Camavanga’s excitement. In the second game after injury, the Frenchman’s placement in central midfield, in the Tchouameni position (this Saturday in the center), was the impetus for the Whites’ usual tedious march up the field. The best moment that Ancelotti’s boys showed came from the midfielder behind the wheel, who was very active in trying to speed up the release of the ball and was alert.

For the third game in a row, Carletto opted for four midfielders: Camavinga on the centerline, Modric on the stage and Rodrigo on the bench (the club claimed that he had not yet fully recovered from back discomfort). With the Frenchman’s excitement, the start from behind turned out to be an unusual pate and, thanks to the greater speed, the locals’ play unfolded with a little more energy. This was not a surprise, but the improvement was evident during a period of much doubt.

Of all the pure midfielders in the team, Camavinga is the only option that Carletto has not yet been able to explore in detail to direct the ball. The young man suffered a sprain in his left knee on August 13 and did not play the first minutes until Wednesday in Lille. “He lacks conditioning (due to injury). “He asked me for a change,” the Italian noted this Saturday.

His misplaced handball in France paved the way for the final score of 1-0, although in the midst of Madrid’s general provocation the play did not go beyond fluke. Ancelotti stood his ground against Villarreal, he gave him a place in the center and the team thanked him before Dani Carvajal lost his breath.