Thibaut said he could have played against Valencia on Saturday, but the club decided not to take any risks and postpone his return until the match against Arsenal
Thibaut Courtois, photo – Getty Images
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has spoken ahead of his away Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal about the reasons why he missed the last few matches and his readiness to play tomorrow.
“I had two adductor injuries at the start of the season. One was caused by a lot of impacts and the other was probably because I started playing too early. I've been fine since then and it was a minor event. To play it safe, we chose to wait to play tomorrow instead of Saturday.”
“I'm 100 per cent fit. I'll have to ask the manager if I'll start the game [against Arsenal], but I feel ready. It wasn't a big problem. I've been working in the gym and on the pitch in the last few days.”
Recall that Courtois was absent from Real's last matches due to muscle strain after the March international break. Back in late March, it was reported that there was no serious threat to the Belgian's health, but the coaching staff of the Whites preferred to play it safe and give Thibaut additional time to recover.
The Belgian was replaced in several matches by Ukrainian Andriy Lunin, but he too was out of the game, having suffered a soleus injury in the return semi-final match of the Spanish Cup against Real Sociedad (4:4). It was reported that Lunin could be out of the game for four weeks, and in the game against Valencia on April 5, it was not ruled out that he would take to the field on painkiller injections.
As a result, the third goalkeeper, 19-year-old Fran Gonzalez, played against Ches, and Real sensationally lost at home to the outsider (1:2). Courtois, who had previously returned to full training, was included in the application for the first match with Arsenal. Unlike Lunin.
In all tournaments of the current season, the 32-year-old Belgian played 37 matches (11 clean sheets), conceding 40 goals.
Let us recall that Real showed unstable results in the overall stage of the Champions League – three defeats in 8 rounds, the final 11th place. But in the first round of the playoffs, Blancos dealt with Manchester City (3:2, 3:1), and in the 1/8 finals they managed to get past Atletico (2:1, 0:1, 4:2 on penalties).
The first leg of the 2024/25 Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Real Madrid will take place on Tuesday, April 8. The kick-off time is 22:00 Kyiv time.