Real Madrid star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tore his ACL before the season even started, leading the club to acquire Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea.
However, Real Madrid ended up getting the perfect Courtois replacement, even though it wasn’t Kepa. Young backup Andriy Lunin first showed his potential at the end of the 2021/22 season with LaLiga already won, and he turned up his performances for the club in 2023/24 with Courtois injured.
Lunin has been one of the best goalkeepers in European football this season, coming up big for Real Madrid in their second leg elimination of Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Real Madrid fans have felt safe with Lunin in goal, but they have been waiting for Courtois’ return, which was on the horizon in April before a setback.
Now, Carlo Ancelotti has informed reporters that Thibaut Courtois “feels good” and is in line to potentially return to the Real Madrid lineup against Cadiz in LaLiga.
The match between Real Madrid and Cadiz will actually take place after the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Bayern Munich. Real face Bayern on Tuesday, April 30, and the Cadiz game will be the following weekend on May 4.
While Real Madrid can beat Bayern Munich or any other opponent with Lunin, who is world-class in his own right, in goal, Courtois is literally the best goalkeeper in the world and on another level entirely. He has still been missed.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.