Real Madrid defender Joan Martinez has undergone surgery after tearing the cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The 17-year-old centre-back suffered the injury while training with the Real Madrid first team, with whom he had travelled on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
He has now undergone surgery to resolve the issue, but the length of his outage remains to be determined. The defender is set to carry out recovery work with the club’s Juvenil A team, coached by Alvaro Arbeloa.
The player had been a popular player during Real Madrid’s American tour, where he played two games against AC Milan and Barcelona.
He was expected to get more first-team opportunities this season following the departure of Nacho Fernandez and the failure to sign defender Leny Yoro, who instead joined Manchester United.
Martinez is contracted to Madrid until 2026, with his place in the team taken by another highly-rated young centre-back, Jacobo Ramon.
Real Madrid have picked up eight points from their first four La Liga games and also won the UEFA Super Cup after beating Atalanta.
(Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)