Why isn’t Kepa playing today for Real Madrid against Valencia in LaLiga and who is Lunin?

For most clubs, losing your first choice goalkeeper could hit really hard on any serious aspirations of success. For Real Madrid, when Thibaut Courtois tore his anterior cruciate ligament at the start of the season, they went out at signed Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan. Problem solved: the most expensive stopper ever steps in. Well, that was ok until Wednesday night.

Kepa had been named in the starting line-up for the Champions League home game against Portuguese side Braga but while warming up suffered an abductor muscle tear. Los Blancos did go on to seal qualification for the round of 16 but did so with the next choice keeper at the back, Andriy Lunin.

Andriy Lunin takes over for Real Madrid

Lunin was, therefore, drafted in as a late replacement and kept a clean sheet in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Spanish giants. Add to that the fact that he also saved a penalty and it’s fair to say that it was a solid display that will give him plenty of confidence going forward.

The Ukrainian had already been put in a similar position in the not-too-distant past, keeping goal against Real Mallorca in Palma in February after Courtois had suffered a similar issue in the run-up to kick off. On that occasion, however, the 24-year-old couldn’t help his team from slumping to a 1-0 defeat. Lunin will take his place between the sticks against Valencia on Saturday and is expected to stay there for the coming weeks.

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It’s worth noting that Lunin started the first two matches of the season, prior to Kepa taking over, away to Athletic Club and Almería. In the second of those games, he played a crucial role in Madrid’s victory, making seven saves as Los Blancos ran out 3-1 winners. The boy from Ukraine played twelve games last season, due to two injuries to Courtois, and despite not being seen as a first choice at the Bernabéu, confidence in him is growing.

How long are Kepa and Courtois out for?

Courtois is expected to spent the vast majority of the season on the sidelines, which is the reason Madrid moved so quickly to bring in Kepa, who had been on the verge of joining Bayern Munich. Instead, he made the switch to the Spanish capital and debuted in the third league fixture of the campaign away to Celta Vigo. Until Wednesday, he hadn’t missed a single minute in LaLiga or the Champions League, playing 13 consecutive matches.

Kepa, now 29, is expected to be out of action for two to three weeks, which means he will miss the LaLiga game at home to Valencia on Saturday, as well as Spain’s Euro 2024 qualifiers during November’s international break. Madrid’s next game comes on 26 November away to Cádiz before welcoming Napoli to the Bernabéu three days later in the Champions League.