The Santiago Bernabeu was stunned into silence on Saturday after watching Eder Militao suffer more injury heartbreak.
The Brazilian defender cried out in agony, clutching his right knee, with his screams heard clearly from the stands and in TV coverage.
5
Militao only recovered from an ACL injury to his left knee earlier this year.
It now appears he has suffered the same problem to his right knee in a devastating blow for the 26-year-old.
His knee appeared to twist as he attempted to lose his marker and get near a cross into the box as Real Madrid took on Osasuna in LaLiga.
Suddenly the centre-back hit the deck writhing in pain.
His teammates were left stunned by the scenes, with centre-back partner Antonio Rudiger and right-back Lucas Vazquez seen with their heads in their hands, while Vinicius Jr attempted to comfort his international teammate.
It’s a cruel blow for Militao, who missed the majority of the 2023/24 campaign after suffering a torn left ACL in the first game of the season.
To make matters worse for Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti, Militao’s injury came just moments after Rodrygo was forced off the pitch in tears.
Just 20 minutes were on the clock when the Brazilian winger left the field clutching his already heavily strapped up thigh.
Militao was carried off on a stretcher just five minutes later.
There were further concerns for Ancelotti as both Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham also appeared to suffer knocks – although both players played through the pain to complete the first-half.
5
Los Blancos’ stars managed to regain their focus and composure after the distressing Militao injury to take the lead against Osasuna.
Bellingham shifted the ball out to Vinicius Jr on the left wing and he then finished brilliantly after a solo run to open the scoring.
Bellingham then made it 2-0 with a crafty lobbed finish over the goalkeeper following a superb lofted pass from young centre-back Raul Asencio.
The 21-year-old was making his senior Real Madrid debut after coming on for Militao, and made an instant contribution with a stunning defence-splitting pass up to the England star.
Vinicius Jr later made it a hat-trick with two second-half goals in the space of eight minutes, in his first game since boycotting the Ballon d’Or in protest of the result.
The Brazilian star was widely tipped to win the coveted Golden Ball and be crowned European football’s best player, but cancelled his plans to go after learning ahead of the ceremony that Man City and Spain midfielder Rodri had won instead.
5
5
The entire Real Madrid team, coaching staff and wider entourage followed suit and were widely criticised for ‘reacting like spoiled children’.
The double Militao and Rodrygo blows add to a bit of an injury crisis for Real Madrid.
Ancelotti is already unable to call upon Dani Carvajal, who has been ruled out of the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in October.
They are also without No.1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and starting midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who aren’t due back in action until December.
However, they are expected to welcome David Alaba back to the pitch soon, after over a year out following a serious knee injury he suffered in December 2023.
