Thibaut Courtois played his first game of the season on Saturday, starting in the 3-0 home win against Cadiz that helped Real Madrid clinch a record-extending 36th La Liga title.
The Belgian goalkeeper had been out for 335 days with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury he suffered just before the season even started and then a meniscus tear in his other knee he picked up during the final stages of his recovery.
Madrid signed Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea following the initial injury, but he has not been first-choice since mid-January. Instead, it is the Ukrainian Andriy Lunin who has most impressed; a player sent out on loan three times since joining the club in summer 2018 has barely put a foot wrong.
Lunin saved two penalties in the Champions League quarter-final shootout win against Manchester City last month and was equally commanding in the semi-final against Bayern Munich. But Courtois is expected to start in La Liga against Granada tomorrow (Saturday) — the day he turns 32 — and, if all goes well, against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at London’s Wembley on June 1.
So, how has Courtois’ recovery gone? And what does the future now look like for Lunin?
“I just tell you that he has the same enthusiasm as on the first day (of his career),” a source close to Courtois — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — told The Athletic before the goalkeeper’s return to the side against Cadiz.
That showed in Courtois’ performance on the day, as he prevented striker Chris Ramos making it 1-0 to the visitors with a fine one-on-one stop in the 50th minute. Those at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground highlight how he rushed to the touchline to prevent the ball from going out after that intervention, which won widespread applause from the Bernabeu crowd.
“I was dreaming of being able to make my comeback at home,” Courtois said. “It was a nice win, which maybe starts with that save. I go for the ball, we play on, and that’s where the goal to make it 1-0 comes from.”
Courtois thwarts Ramos on Saturday (Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
Those who cover Madrid had become used to Courtois showing his face after games, being honest and highlighting his interventions. It was as if no time had passed.
“Both he and (Eder) Militao (who also suffered an ACL injury this season) are back, and they need minutes,” coach Carlo Ancelotti told the press conference. “I will play them in these league games.”
The debate is now who starts that Champions League final? Courtois or Lunin.
Ancelotti made clear Lunin would play in Wednesday’s second leg of the semi-final against Bayern — in which Madrid secured their passage to the final with another remarkable late turnaround — but it is expected to be a different story at Wembley in three weeks’ time.
Madrid’s defence has been a key part of their excellent season, with both Lunin and Arrizabalaga playing active roles. Madrid kept 18 clean sheets in 34 league games en route to sealing the title — they have only bettered that tally in three seasons — and have conceded just 22 goals.
Even so, various sources at Valdebebas say Courtois is the favourite to start against Dortmund after the most difficult year of his career.
There were fears Courtois would miss the entire season when he first ruptured the ACL in his left knee on August 10, two days before the La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao. He underwent surgery a week later and began the long process of healing.
Courtois spent a minimum of five hours a day working either at the training ground or his home. In the early stages of his recovery, he focused on exercises to prevent him losing too much muscle mass and agility. He progressed to working in the gym and using motion-sensor machines and tennis balls to maintain his reaction speed.
He would arrive at Valdebebas early in the morning, get treatment, exercise and then go to the gym, before returning home to eat, rest and continue his work there.
Lunin has stepped up admirably in Courtois’ absence (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While it was difficult to know when Courtois would return, confidence grew he would be back in contention around the end of April. The prospect of a possible Champions League final provided a further incentive.
He took an important step towards that on January 6, when he returned to the training pitch for the first time in months.
Three people have been crucial to his recovery: goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis, the club’s physiotherapist Davide Violati and physical trainer Giuseppe Bellistri. Violati is so close to Courtois that he accompanied him when he was on World Cup finals duty with Belgium in 2022.
There are parallels with Militao, arguably Madrid’s best centre-back. who suffered an ACL injury in that first game of the season in Bilbao and returned at the end of March.
“You are talking a lot about Eder’s recovery, but the one who is flying even more is Thibaut,” a coaching staff source told The Athletic in February, when the ’keeper had rejoined the squad for training sessions.
On March 19, however, Courtois experienced a setback.
In the week in which he and Militao were set to play a friendly with the club’s reserve side during the international break, he suffered a new injury in training. After surgery the following day on a ruptured meniscus in his right knee, Madrid estimated he would be out of action for two more months — and there were few hopes he would be able to play at all this season.
As The Athletic reported, however, this was a minor procedure and not on the knee he had more severely injured in August. Because of an operation he’d had on his right knee during his time at Chelsea from 2011-18, the area had to be cleaned up — meaning it would only take him around a month to return to the squad.
Courtois has relied on his family during his time on the sidelines.
One highlight was the birth of his third child, a girl called Ellie — his first with current partner, model Mishel Gerzig. Both were present at the Bernabeu for Courtois’ comeback earlier this month after he joined up with the squad again at the end of April.
Ancelotti and his coaching staff have been impressed by Lunin’s improvement this season.
The 25-year-old has made 30 appearances in all competitions, keeping 12 clean sheets and proving decisive in key moments. But they still see Courtois as the best goalkeeper in the world and will count on him against Dortmund at Wembley if he is fit.
Courtois was player of the match in the 2022 Champions League final (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
That has always been the idea, which reflects more on Courtois’ excellent reputation rather than any failing on Lunin’s part. It is a difficult decision for the staff and one that will hurt Lunin, who believes he has done enough to be a guarantee for any game. But it is not expected to affect his future and the 11-cap Ukraine international is close to agreeing a contract extension until 2028.
Madrid fans still remember Courtois’ performance in the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2022, when he made nine saves to win them their 14th European Cup — the most recorded by Opta in a final since 2003-04.
Fans have chanted Courtois’ name in his absence this season and on Wednesday he celebrated with his team-mates on the pitch after Joselu’s late goals helped them past Bayern.
Now he is ready to perform heroics once more.
(Top photo: Angel Martinez – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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