Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger is expected to be out of action for up to two months, sources have told ESPN, after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday.
Rüdiger, 32, was substituted during extra time in Madrid’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, and later received a red card for throwing an object onto the pitch and attempting to confront the referee.
The Germany international — who had played on for some time with a heavily bandaged knee before being withdrawn — later apologised for his actions, saying there was “no excuse for my behaviour ” in a post on social media.
“Our player Antonio Rüdiger underwent successful surgery today for a partial tear in the external meniscus of his left leg,” Madrid said in a statement on Tuesday. “The operation was carried out by Dr. Manuel Leyes, under the supervision of Real Madrid Medical Services. Rüdiger will soon begin recovery work.”
Sources have told ESPN that Rüdiger was expected to be unavailable for up to two months, which would see him miss the remainder of the LaLiga season and jeopardise his participation in this summer’s Club World Cup.
The club’s target would be for the centre-back to be fully fit for preseason, sources said, without taking any unnecessary risks.
But Rüdiger said in a post on Instagram that he will “do everything” in order to return in time to feature at the Club World Cup with Madrid and the Nations League with Germany this summer.
“After I have played more than seven month with severe pain, it was unfortunately unavoidable that I had to undergo a meniscus surgery,” Rüdiger said.
“Now I’m finally pain-free again, and the surgery was a success … I want to be able to play again as soon as possible as two big tournaments with the Nations League and the Club World Cup are in front of me, but I have to look from week to week now and we will see. I will do everything I can to make it happen.”
Rüdiger was sent off in the 120th minute of Saturday’s cup final, minutes after Jules Koundé had put Barcelona 3-2 up in extra time.
Referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea said Rüdiger had been dismissed “for throwing an object from the technical area” and then “had to be restrained by various members of the coaching staff, showing an aggressive attitude.”
The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee will reveal the length of the defender’s ban over the incident in the coming days, although his surgery will now rule out his involvement for the rest of this season, regardless.
Madrid’s defence is already without long-term absentees Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal, who suffered ACL injuries earlier this season.
Left-back Ferland Mendy lasted just eight minutes on his return from injury in the Copa del Rey final before being withdrawn with a problem, while midfielder Eduardo Camavinga — who can also fill in at left-back — suffered a serious groin injury against Getafe last week, and will not be back this season.
Madrid are four points behind Barcelona at the top of LaLiga with five games left to play. They host Celta Vigo on Sunday, before travelling to face Barcelona in another Clásico next week.
They will play Al Hilal, Pachuca and RB Salzburg in the Club World Cup group stage, with the first game against Al Hilal taking place in Miami, Florida, on June 18.
