Real Madrid defender Militao to undergo surgery after tearing ACL

The Brazil centre back was injured when he hyperextended his knee trying to strike a rebound early in the game and was in tears as he was helped off the pitch.

Real Madrid’s Eder Militao reacts after sustaining an injury. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Real Madrid defender Eder Militao will undergo surgery after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in their 4-0 LaLiga win over Osasuna on Saturday and is set to miss several months for the second consecutive season, the LaLiga club said.

The Brazil centre back was injured when he hyperextended his knee trying to strike a rebound early in the game and was in tears as he was helped off the pitch.

The 26-year-old Militao became the second Real Madrid player to suffer an ACL injury this season, after full back Dani Carvajal.

“Following tests carried out today on our player Eder Militao by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament with involvement of both menisci in his right leg. Militao will undergo surgery in the coming days,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday he will be forced to resort to the club’s youth academy players to fill in as injuries continue to plague the LaLiga and Champions League holders.

In addition to Militao, full back Lucas Vazques and forward Rodrygo joined Real’s lengthy injury list on Saturday and Ancelotti said that he will look for solutions inside the club until the transfer window opens in January.

“I’m not thinking about signings right now because we have to prepare for games with the players we have,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“Three injuries in the first half is quite rare. The demanding schedule doesn’t allow the players to rest and be fresh.

“We will evaluate the situation in the coming months, the only thing we can do is try to recover as many players as possible. We will see in January what happens.”

“Today (academy defender) Raul Asencio came off the bench and made a good contribution, (midfielder) Federico Valverde played fine as a full back... We did well last year when we had injuries and we will do the same this year as well.”

Real was already without key players Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois, Aurelien Tchouameni, David Alaba and missing Vazquez and Militao would leave it with Antonio Ruediger, Ferland Mendy and Fran Gracia as the only experienced defenders in their senior squad.