Federico Valverde was taken to hospital and needed stitches to heal a “small cut” after a bust-up on Real Madrid’s training ground with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni.
The midfielder denied that he and Tchouameni “came to blows” during the confrontation but Real Madrid have opened disciplinary proceedings against both players over the training-ground incident. A club statement read: “Real Madrid CF announces that, following the events that took place this morning in the first team training session, it has decided to open disciplinary proceedings against our players Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.”
The pair were reported to have fought at the end of Thursday’s training session, following a previous altercation on Wednesday, and Valverde was then revealed to have suffered a head injury that will rule him out of most of Real’s remaining games this season.
Valverde posted a lengthy statement in response on his Instagram story – without mentioning Tchouameni by name – in which he insisted the incident had been “blown out of proportion”.
The Uruguay midfielder wrote: “Yesterday (Wednesday) I had an incident with a team-mate during a training session. In a normal locker room, these things can happen and are usually resolved internally without it becoming public knowledge.
“Obviously, there’s someone behind this, spreading the story quickly, and with a season without titles where Real Madrid is always under scrutiny, everything gets magnified.
“Today we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.
“At no point did my team-mate hit me and I didn’t hit him either, although I understand it’s easier for you to believe we came to blows or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.”
Valverde’s description of a “small cut” was in contrast to the club’s medical update, which read: “After the tests carried out today on our player Fede Valverde by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a cranioencephalic trauma.
“Valverde is at home in good condition and will need to rest for 10 to 14 days, as indicated by medical protocols for this diagnosis.”
That timescale rules Valverde out of Sunday’s Clasico – in which Real’s arch-rivals Barcelona will clinch the title should they avoid defeat – and potentially the remainder of Real’s season, which concludes on May 24 at home to Athletic Bilbao.
It is the latest in a string of recent controversies at the club, with defender Antonio Rudiger reportedly apologising to the squad for another training-ground clash.
Star striker Kylian Mbappe was then reported to have been involved in an angry exchange with a member of the club’s coaching staff who was acting as an assistant referee in a training match.
Mbappe, who is recovering from a hamstring injury and is a doubt for this weekend’s game, has also faced criticism for a trip to Italy with his partner having arrived back shortly before kick-off in last Sunday’s win at Espanyol.
