Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has confirmed his absence from Euro 2024 due to an ACL injury. The Real Madrid shot-stopper suffered the tear during pre-season training for the 2023/24 season, necessitating surgery to address the knee damage. Consequently, Real Madrid secured Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea as a replacement for the ongoing campaign.
In an interview with Sporza, Courtois disclosed that he would miss the remainder of the current season and, unfortunately, Euro 2024 as well:
“Due to the injury, there will be no [Euro 2024] for me anyway. If I’m lucky, I can play another match in May. But then you can never be 100 per cent ready for a big tournament.”
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Courtois had been involved in controversy during the Euro 2024 qualification, reportedly clashing with manager Domenico Tedesco over not being appointed captain for his 100th appearance against Austria. Reflecting on the incident, Courtois expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that Tedesco had “breached the trust” between them:
“Look, if my departure was purely about the captaincy, I would have already resigned in March [when Tedesco chose De Bruyne as captain]. Kevin as captain? No problem. But then you had Romelu [Lukaku] and I as vice-captains without hierarchy.
“When he said that Romelu was captain against Austria and I was captain against Estonia on Tuesday, something snapped inside me. I couldn’t handle it anymore. The fact that I no longer felt appreciation from the federation and trainer made something explode within me.”