{"id":1090,"date":"2026-10-25T12:34:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/25\/real-madrids-courtois-to-miss-el-classico-due-to-illness\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T12:34:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:34:44","slug":"real-madrids-courtois-to-miss-el-classico-due-to-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/25\/real-madrids-courtois-to-miss-el-classico-due-to-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid\u2019s Courtois to miss El Classico due to illness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Real-Madrids-Courtois-to-miss-El-Classico-due-to-illness.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Real Madrid\u2019s Courtois to miss El Classico due to illness\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Real-Madrids-Courtois-to-miss-El-Classico-due-to-illness.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.vanguardngr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/courtois-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.vanguardngr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/courtois-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.vanguardngr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/courtois.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Real Madrid have suffered a major setback ahead of their El Clasico clash against Barcelona after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out of Sunday\u2019s La Liga encounter due to illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Belgian goalkeeper has contracted the flu and will miss the Matchday 10 fixture at Camp Nou, forcing Madrid to turn to Ukrainian shot-stopper Andriy Lunin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The development comes at a crucial time for Real Madrid, who trail Barcelona by six points in the La Liga standings and need a positive result to strengthen their title challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Real Madrid confirmed Courtois\u2019 late withdrawal in a statement released hours before kick-off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCourtois is a last-minute withdrawal from tonight\u2019s LaLiga matchday 10 game between Real Madrid and Barcelona due to a bout of the flu,\u201d the club said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIllia Voloshyn has been called up to the squad in his place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Courtois\u2019 absence represents a significant blow for Madrid, given his importance to the team and his recent performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 34-year-old was in action during Madrid\u2019s recent Champions League outing, in which the club reportedly secured a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His late withdrawal leaves Lunin with the responsibility of guarding Madrid\u2019s goal in one of the most important fixtures of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lunin is expected to start in goal in place of Courtois as Madrid prepare to face their fierce rivals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 27-year-old has served as Courtois\u2019 deputy in recent seasons and gained valuable experience during Madrid\u2019s run to the Champions League final in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He will now face a major test against a Barcelona side that has enjoyed an impressive start to the domestic campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona head into the encounter looking to maintain their strong league form, while Madrid will be eager to close the gap at the top of the standings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Madrid\u2019s preparations have been further complicated by the absence of forward Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior, who remains unavailable as he serves a four-match domestic suspension.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brazilian\u2019s absence deprives Madrid of an important attacking option for the high-profile encounter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Madrid have also suffered two league defeats this season, against Real Betis and Atletico Madrid, increasing the pressure on the team to secure a result against Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Courtois ruled out at the last minute and Vin\u00edcius unavailable, Madrid face a difficult challenge as they seek to reduce Barcelona\u2019s six-point advantage in the La Liga title race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanguardngr.com\/\">Vanguard News<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2026\/10\/real-madrids-courtois-to-miss-el-classico-due-to-illness\/\">Real Madrid\u2019s Courtois to miss El Classico due to illness<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/\">Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Source: <\/p>\n<div class=\"nSourse\">Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid have suffered a major setback ahead of their El Clasico clash against Barcelona after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out of Sunday\u2019s La Liga encounter due to illness.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}