Dani Carvajal: 4 things to know about his terrible injury

Dani Carvajal’s injury is of great concern. Real Madrid loses one of its greatest servants and above all an iconic player in its recent history. Sportingly, the club has several options to replace him, but the main thing is to see him return in the best conditions after his convalescence. Here’s everything we know about his injury from a medical perspective.

While it may have been simplified as a “cruciate ligament rupture,” the damage to the tissue in his knee is in fact much more extensive. To be more precise, his right leg suffers from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (stabilizes the axis of the knee), as well as the external collateral ligament (stabilizes the external part of the knee) and the popliteus tendon (connects the popliteus muscle to the back of the external meniscus, this muscle serves as an internal rotator for the tibia and a flexor for the knee).

Also read: Carlo Ancelotti should not rely on La Fabrica to replace Dani Carvajal

MADRID, SPAIN – OCTOBER 05: Daniel Carvajal of Real Madrid (obscured) receives medical treatment following a clash with Yeremi Pino of Villarreal CF during the LaLiga match between Real Madrid CF and Villarreal CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 05, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Dani Carvajal’s injury is not only complex, it is also unusual. MARCA asked Dr. Pablo Gelber about him. He is an orthopedic surgeon based in Barcelona who is a world reference in terms of knee surgery. According to the Spanish surgeon, this injury partly affects the lateral area of ​​the knee, which is not the one best known by the majority of surgeons specializing in the knee.

“The medial or internal part of the knee has rather tapered structures and this allows there to always be contact between its broken parts. This is why conservative or non-surgical treatment generally gives good results. But on the lateral or external part, the fibers have the shape of ropes. And if they break, their ends won’t be in contact, so they won’t heal spontaneously.”

A surgical operation therefore seems inevitable. Dani Carvajal and the club will also have to go to a practitioner who has made this area his specialty, but there is no doubt that these precautions will be taken.

Real Madrid are starting to get used to the duration of a cruciate ligament rupture. Éder Militão and Thibaut Courtois had it for 8 months. David Alaba, still injured, sees his return scheduled for around November 1, i.e. 10 and a half months after his injury. However, when it comes to Dani Carvajal, the situation is even more serious. This same Dr. Pablo Gelber is not as confident about the lateral.

The triple nature of this injury necessarily increases the duration that must be expected for his return, since the structural stability of his knee is no longer guaranteed at all, unlike a simpler cruciate ligament rupture.

Finally, there are some doubts about whether Dani Carvajal can return to his initial level. A negative factor is his age. At 32 years old and after such a grueling career punctuated with minor injuries, the body does not recover from such an injury as it does at 20 years old. Dr. Pablo Gelber cannot say with certainty that he will ever play top-level football again.

“The possibility of him returning to sport is quite high, but whether he returns to the same previous level will depend on the surgery performed and the sensations that result from it. There are cases where we start a surgical operation and we see that everything is destroyed, more than we previously suspected.

Real Madrid have suffered numerous cruciate ligament tears in recent times (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, as human beings, we can’t fix everything. Therefore, if current technical capacity is not sufficient to cover all injuries produced, results will be suboptimal. Without going into this particular case, I would say that there is a 50 to 60% probability that a player after this injury can return exactly to his previous level.

Dani Carvajal faces the challenge of a lifetime. The 32-year-old Spaniard aims to achieve the impossible for the club he joined through the youth teams in 2002, and no one can doubt his determination.