The news that Éder Militão will be out for four months hit Real Madrid hard, since the club revealed that the defender suffered a rupture in the left hamstring with damage to the proximal tendon. The injury happened on Sunday during the 2–0 loss to Celta de Vigo and once again interrupted the Brazilian’s attempt to regain rhythm and consistency. The expectation is that he’ll return in April 2026, which puts Brazil’s national team on alert with the World Cup kicking off in June.
Another long break at a difficult moment
The play that forced Militão out happened 24 minutes into the first half. He felt his leg, immediately reached for the area and walked off the field without even trying to keep going. Rüdiger replaced him and Real Madrid finished the match defeated. In the end, the score mattered less than the fact that this scene has become uncomfortably familiar in the defender’s recent career.
His recent history helps explain the frustration. In November 2024, Militão dealt with an injury that sidelined him for 234 days. When he returned, he tried to build momentum, but in December he suffered another issue and spent 115 more days out. Now another serious injury appears, in a complex area and at an even tighter moment, since the schedules of clubs and national teams keep shrinking and leaving little tolerance for long absences.
A major blow for Real Madrid and Brazil
Real Madrid faces a significant loss, as the team sits in second place in LaLiga with 36 points, four behind Barcelona, and relies on Militão as an important part of its defensive structure. The club stated that the medical staff will closely monitor every step of his recovery, but the timeline through April doesn’t leave much room for mistakes.
Brazil’s national team is also watching the situation carefully. Militão is seen as a key piece in the defensive plan for the World Cup and had strong chances of arriving as a starter, whether as a center back or on the right side. The question, however, is simple and unavoidable. How do you ensure that a player who has dealt with repeated layoffs will have enough time to regain confidence and rhythm before the tournament.
What stands out isn’t only the severity of the injury, but the accumulation of setbacks in such a short span. Militão has plenty of quality and is far from the physical limit of a veteran. Even so, the recent sequence of injuries forces both club and national team to evaluate every step with caution. His recovery is underway, but the clock to the World Cup keeps ticking.