Federico Valverde out with third-degree left ankle sprain

Real Madrid confirmed on Tuesday that midfielder Federico Valverde has suffered a third-degree sprain of his left ankle and will be sidelined for an extended period.

The club’s medical examinations diagnosed a serious ligament injury after Valverde was hurt by a heavy tackle during the derby. The challenge came from Kang-In Lee, for which coach Jose Mourinho demanded a red card, but the South Korean escaped punishment during the match.

Medical update and recovery timeline

In its official statement the club said: "After the examinations carried out today by Real Madrid's medical team on our player Fede Valverde, he has been diagnosed with a third-degree sprain of the left ankle. His condition will be monitored." Earlier, immediately after the derby, Real Madrid had initially described the player’s problem as a "serious injury to the left ankle."

The club did not give an exact recovery deadline, but expects Valverde to be out for approximately two to three weeks. The absence intersects with the international break, so the midfielder will miss Uruguay’s friendlies against Japan (24 September), South Korea (28 September) and India (6 October).

Valverde’s participation in Real Madrid’s first match after the international pause — the home game against Villarreal at the Bernabéu on 10 October — is considered highly unlikely. Real travel to Roma in the Champions League on 14 October and then host Sevilla in La Liga on 18 October; the expectation is that Valverde could return for one of those fixtures.

Despite the injury, Valverde finished the derby after sustaining the blow shortly before halftime. Up to this point he had started every match for his club, "scoring and assisting eight times in the competition."

Photo: press material from the event