Real Madrid captain Valverde sidelined with ankle injury

Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde suffered an ankle injury in his team’s weekend derby loss to Atletico Madrid, the club confirmed Tuesday

The Uruguay midfielder was hurt by a tackle from Atletico’s Lee Kang-in, which Real have insisted should have resulted in a sending off for the South Korean. According to Spanish press reports, Valverde will be sidelined for several weeks and will miss Uruguay’s upcoming friendlies against Japan, South Korea and India.

“After the tests carried out today on our player Fede Valverde by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a grade 3 sprain in his left ankle,” the La Liga giants said in a short statement.

Real coach Jose Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference following Sunday’s 2-1 loss with printed screen-shots of two tackles he felt should have resulted in red cards for Atletico players, including Lee’s on Valverde.