Thibaut Courtois leaves Real Madrid training in tears as goalkeeper suffers fresh injury setback that may end his season

Marca reported on Tuesday afternoon that Courtois left training in tears after what tests later revealed to be a torn meniscus in his right knee. The new injury looks set to rule him out for the rest of the season, with the Belgian having already missed the entire campaign as a result of tearing the ACL in his left knee back in August. He avoided a repeat of the same problem, but surgery is still likely to repair the meniscus damage.

Courtois was just a matter of weeks away from returning to action after spending the the last seven months recovering from one of football's worst injuries. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was expecting him back after the March international break, but now it looks set to be 2024/25 before Courtois is back on a football pitch. Andriy Lunin will continue to deputise.

The last time that Courtois didn't make a single appearance during an entire season was 2009/10. But he was just 17 years of age at the time, having previously made his professional debut for Genk but not yet established as number one - that came soon after he turned 18.

As well as missing the rest of the club season, it also almost certainly means Courtois will play no part at Euro 2024 for Belgium this summer. His chances of playing at that tournament were slim already, following a spectacular falling out with Red Devils boss Domenico Tedesco recently.

As for Real, their title charge in La Liga hasn't been harmed by Courtois' absence, but a player of his quality and vast experience would have been a huge plus in the latter stages of the Champions League as they prepare to face Manchester City in the quarter-finals next month.