Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was stretchered out of training on Thursday and will undergo surgery after tearing his ACL, the club have confirmed.
Courtois has been one of the top stoppers in world football since his move to Madrid in 2018 and managed ten clean sheets in La Liga last season as Carlo Ancelotti's side fell short to Barcelona in the title race.
His involvement in the upcoming campaign now appears to be under threat after Madrid confirmed reports that Courtois had suffered a serious knee injury in training.
"After the tests carried out on our player Thibaut Courtois, he has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee," a club statement read. "The player will undergo surgery in the coming days."
READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
With Courtois now expected to miss a significant part of the 2023/24 season, Ancelotti will need to explore his options in goal.
Currently, the only alternative goalkeeper in his squad is 24-year-old Ukraine international Andriy Lunin. Since joining in the summer of 2018, Lunin has managed just 17 appearances for Madrid, conceding 19 goals and keeping just four clean sheets.
90min understands Madrid officials are now looking to bring in a new goalkeeper to replace Courtois but have not yet ruled out entering the coming campaign with Lunin as their starting goalkeeper.
Ancelotti is already battling to solidify a leaky Madrid defence which conceded eight goals across four pre-season games but must now do so without his preferred stopper.
LISTEN NOW TO 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS PODCAST
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Bayern's failed third bid for Harry Kane, whether David Raya may dislodge Aaron Ramsdale as Arsenal's number one goalkeeper, West Ham's bids for Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay & more!
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
This article was originally published on 90min as Thibaut Courtois suffers ACL tear in Real Madrid training.