Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois set to miss Euro 2024

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Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will not participate in the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament after he sustained a knee ligament injury.

Reports indicate this is coming despite the likelihood of the former Chelsea goalkeeper making a return to the Real Madrid squad.

Courtois has endured a disappointing season, missing the entirety of it as a result of injury. The player needed another operation on his knee in March to address a recurring problem.

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Courtois’ injury crisis

According to Spanish media outfit, Marca Courtois left training in tears in March following revelation from tests that he had a torn meniscus in his right knee.

That fresh injury further extended his stay on the sidelines until the rest of the season although he had already been ruled out of the season before.

He was only a matter of weeks away from returning to action after spending the previous seven months recovering from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.

In his absence, Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin has continued to deputise for the Belgian.

As earlier stated, he might return for Real Madrid before the end of the current season. However, Belgium men’s national football team coach Domenico Tedesco has ruled him out of Euro 2024 selection.

The 31-year-old has over a century appearances for the Red Devils who reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals. In December, he stated he would not recover fully to play at the tournament to be hosted in Germany later this June and July.

“On this topic, everything has already been said. I don’t want a tit-for-tat situation,” Tedesco told German media on Tuesday.

“We are focusing on players who are in good shape.”

Meanwhile, Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti has said he is optimistic about the chances of having Courtois back in action. Ancelotti says he hopes the shot stopper will be available for selection in Saturday’s La Liga game against Cadiz.

Courtois returned to the Madrid team on Monday ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich.