Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, underwent "successful" surgery on a knee injury he sustained during preseason, the team revealed on Thursday.
International player from Belgium "has successfully undergone surgery today to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee," Real said in a succinct statement.
Courtois will begin his recovery program "in the coming days," the team added. However, they did not say when he would be able to resume playing, raising concerns that he would miss the majority of the season.
Courtois suffered an injury in practice a week earlier, and Madrid hired Kepa Arrizabalaga to fill in for him. He made his debut on Tuesday after arriving on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Eder Militao of Brazil, who sustained a similar injury to Courtois in Saturday's 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga opener, may also need surgery soon.
Arda Guler, a young midfielder, had successful surgery on Monday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. He is anticipated to be out for six to eight weeks.
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