Valverde to miss Korea friendly after ankle injury from Lee Kang-in tackle
Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde will miss Uruguay’s Seoul friendly after suffering a grade 3 ankle sprain on a tackle by Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in.
Lee Kang-in of Atlético Madrid, left, makes a hard tackle on Federico Valverde’s ankle during a match at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on Sept. 20.REAL MADRID SOCIAL MEDIA
Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde will miss Uruguay’s friendly against Korea after injuring his ankle in a tackle by Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in.
“After the tests carried out today on our player [Federico] Valverde by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a grade 3 sprain in his left ankle,” the Spanish club said Tuesday.
Valverde had initially been named to Uruguay’s squad but will now miss all three upcoming friendlies, against Japan on Thursday, Korea on Monday in Seoul and India on Oct. 6. Uruguay picked Emiliano Martínez of Palmeiras as Valverde’s replacement.
Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho holds up a piece of paper showing the moment Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in made a tackle during a press conference in Madrid on Sept. 20SCREEN CAPTURE
Valverde suffered the injury during a La Liga match at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on Sunday. Lee caught his left ankle with a rough tackle in the 44th minute, but the challenge went unpunished.
Valverde immediately rose to his feet and protested to the referee, then finished the match.
After the 2-1 defeat, Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho held up an A4 printout of the tackle and fiercely protested the decision. He asserted that Lee’s action deserved a red card.
A post on Real Madrid’s official social media account on Sunday featured Lee’s tackle and carried the caption: “A dreadful refereeing performance decides the derby.”
The dispute has since escalated. Incumbent La Liga president Javier Tebas dismissed Real Madrid’s allegations of biased refereeing as belonging to “another galaxy.” Real Madrid called the remarks “intolerable” and said it wants a new president of the league.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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