Carlo Ancelotti Confirms Courtois’ Muscle Injury
Thibaut Courtois finished the Madrid derby at the Civitas Metropolitano with a muscle issue that prevented him from taking goal kicks during the last moments of the game. As Carlo Ancelotti confirmed, Courtois will undergo medical tests on Monday to determine if he needs time off due to the injury.
"Fran García has a nasty knock, and Courtois has a muscle problem. He’ll be evaluated tomorrow," Ancelotti revealed in a press conference. Depending on the results of Courtois’ tests, Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin could get his first minutes of the season on Wednesday in Real Madrid's Champions League match against Lille.
To wrap things up, Ancelotti mentioned that he doesn’t regret his substitutions, specifically taking off Brazilians Vinícius and Rodrygo Goes, despite Atlético Madrid's late equalizer in the added time at the Civitas Metropolitano. He explained the changes were "due to fatigue."
"I don’t regret it. The changes were because the players were tired," he justified. "That’s football. When you’re leading with five minutes left, you have to defend, and we did that well throughout the match. In the last play, they made a great move, a perfect through ball, and they scored," he said regretfully. Even though the victory slipped away at the last moment, Ancelotti remained positive during the post-match press conference.