The injury to Vinicius Junior (23, Real Madrid) turned out to be much more serious. He is expected to be out for about 10 weeks.
Mario Cortegana of the British ‘The Athletic’ reported on the 18th (below), “The extent of Vinicius’ injury is more serious than first feared. He suffered a thigh injury in a World Cup qualifier against Colombia and will be out for around 10 weeks.”
“The initial prognosis was for a six-week absence, but further tests on Saturday revealed tendon damage, which means Vinicius is likely to be out for around two and a half months.”
Vinicius was called up to the Brazilian national team during the November A-match. He started the match against Colombia. However, an injury in the 27th minute forced an early substitution. As he returned to the bench, Vinicius didn’t look happy.
Initially, it seemed less serious. European transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano said on Sunday: “Vinicius will leave the Brazilian national team camp with immediate effect due to a muscle injury, which was confirmed by medical tests today. He will return to Madrid, Spain, for an accurate diagnosis. This injury seems to be less serious than the last one.”
It wasn’t. Real announced the results of Vinicius’ tests on the club’s website on April 18. He has tendon damage in his left leg and a ruptured biceps femoris muscle. As a result, he will be out for an extended period of time. Cortegana told The Athletic that he expects to be out for around 10 weeks. He won”t be able to take the field until the end of this year and the beginning of next year.
The injuries keep coming. Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Chouameni, Édouard Militant, Thibaut Courtois, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Arda Güler, and Dani Ceballos are currently on the injury list. Add Vinicius to the mix and Carlo Ancelotti’s head is spinning.
Real will have to hope that Vinicius’ recovery goes well and quickly. They don’t have any more big games this year, as they face Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de España quarterfinals on January 11 next year. However, the current timeframe doesn’t look promising.