Real Madrid conceded a late equaliser to rivals Atletico Madrid in a bad-tempered derby clash on Sunday night, and the bitter taste for Los Blancos only got worse after the match. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that they could lose one or both of Thibaut Courtois and Fran Garcia.
It was notable that Fede Valverde took the final goal-kick of the game instead of the Belgian goalkeeper for Los Blancos and it appears that it was down to a muscle issue. After the match, Ancelotti told the press they were not yet sure exactly what the issues was.
“Fran Garcia took an ugly knock, and Courtois had a muscular problem. He will be evaluated tomorrow,” the Italian remarked.
The positive could be that given Courtois played on, and made a couple of good saves, and were it serious, that may not have happened. Garcia was the victim of an ugly tackle from Marcos Llorente, who was sent off after a VAR review, and he did apologise to the left-back. Real Madrid face Lille away from home in the Champions League, and then will host Villarreal before the international break.
