Alarm bells for Real Madrid as Carvajal leaves the pitch on a stretcher and in tears

With the clock ticking down in added time and Real Madrid cruising to a 2-0 win over Villarreal, the mood at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was positive with the slip-ups in the derby against Atletico and the 1-0 midweek loss to Lille becoming things of the past.

Deep into added time Dani Carvajal and Villarreal’s Yeremy Pino battled for a breaking ball on the right hand flank with the veteran defender immediately going to ground after the collision and other Real Madrid teammates summoned the medical team onto the pitch.

Carvajal was in obvious distress and eventually had to leave the pitch on a stretcher as he was unable to walk on his own. With it being too early to determine the nature of the problem, television analysts observed that the injury had the hallmarks of a cruciate ligament tear.

After the game, goalscorer Fede Valverde satted: “What happened is a real shame and at the moment the result is almost a secondary thing. What is important now is Carva’s health and we now need to see what they say in the dressing room”.

In the post game press conference, Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that the player had sustained a ‘serious knee injury’.