Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger, left, challenges for the ball with Barcelona’s Ferran Torres during the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger, left, challenges for the ball with Barcelona’s Ferran Torres during the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger, left, challenges for the ball with Barcelona’s Ferran Torres during the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid defender Antonio ¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and could miss the rest of the season.
Madrid said ¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù successfully underwent surgery on a meniscus tear in his left knee and will begin “his recovery process shortly.†The club did not give a timeline for his return but the recovery is expected to take several weeks.
¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù said it was “unavoidable†to have the surgery after playing for more than sevens months “with severe pain.â€
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“Now I’m finally pain-free again, and the surgery was a success,†he said in a post that included photos of him in the hospital after the surgery, one in bed and another in a wheelchair while holding crutches.
“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.â€
¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù had to be replaced in extra time of to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
He made headlines for shouting at the referee from the bench and for apparently onto the field.
¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù but the incident prompted former Germany player Dietmar Hamann to call for the defender to be left out of Germany’s squad for the Nations League final four in June.
German national team sporting director Rudi Völler also criticized ¸éü»å¾±²µ±ð°ù, saying he needed to show “class†and respect for others.
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Germany plays Portugal in the Nations League semifinals in Munich on June 4. Madrid’s first game at the Club World Cup in the United States is on June 18.
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