Real Madrid beat Villarreal but lose their captain in the process

Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior scored to give Real Madrid the win over Villarreal on Saturday. But that was overshadowed by what looked like to be a serious injury to Dani Carvajal.

The Real Madrid captain suffered the injury in the final minutes of added time. Carvajal went to clear a ball, swung his foot and made contact with Yeremy Pino's thigh. Carvajal wasn't expecting it and it was on that contact the injury to his knee occurred.

The Madrid right-back immediately went down in excruciating pain. His screams were audible on the broadcast, highlighting that this could pontentially be something serious.

On replay, his knee became hyperextended when he made contact with Pino, Carvajal wasn't able to brace himself as Pino came into the picture late. Though it is important to mention Pino isn't at fault as those types of plays are common. On this occasion however, the point of contact was in the worst place for Carvajal.

Carvajal was in tears as he was carted off since he couldn't put any weight on his knee.

"It looks like a serious knee injury, it has to be evaluated in the next few hours," Ancelotti said after the match. "The dressing room is sad, and worried. Something happened that we wish wouldn't happen. It happens, with this schedule. Unfortunately it's happened to a very important player for us."

While nothing is certain at the moment, as Ancelotti said, it does look like it's going to be an injury where Carvajal is out in the long-term.

It's a significant blow for both the player and the team. The back-up at right-back is 33-year-old Lucas Vazquez. He has been an important player for Madrid, showing up in important moments but he's not quite at the level of Carvajal who has more to him in both attack and defense.

As for Carvajal, he was having perhaps the best moments of his career. In addition to captaining Real Madrid, he's become an important part of the Spanish national team and his performance at EURO 2024 cemented him as one of the best right-backs in the world. Real Madrid will be holding their breathes, hoping it isn't a season-ending injury.

"He's a fundamental player for us with his experience, his seriousness, and his professionalism," Ancelotti said. " He's obviously sad, and disappointed, but there isn't much to do. We'll see what the medical assessment says, and then think about his recovery."