Thibaut Courtois suffers fresh knee injury during Real Madrid training

The Belgian International Thibaut Courtois is ruled out for an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee.

The 31-year-old Belgian Keeper has already missed most of Real Madrid’s campaign so far as they battled for the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury last August.

Thibaut Courtois now appears set for a longer layoff, reportedly six weeks, which will rule him out of Belgium’s friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and England over the next seven days and possibly both of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, against Manchester City.

A statement published on realmadrid.com on Tuesday afternoon read: “Following tests carried out today on Thibaut Courtois, he has been diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. The injury occurred during today’s training.”

In the case of Courtois, Andriy Lunin has made his mark this season for Real’s league leaders. Los Blancos are eight points clear of fierce rivals and reigning Spanish champions Barcelona with nine games remaining.