Real Madrid has confirmed Rodrygo suffered 2 serious injuries at the same time: ACL and adhesive cartilage in his right knee. This week, the Brazilian striker will undergo surgery and if nothing changes, he will have to be sidelined for 1 year, meaning he will be absent for the rest of the season and the 2026 World Cup.
The 25-year-old star came on as a substitute and played for more than half an hour in Real Madrid's 0-1 defeat to Getafe. After Rodrygo left the field due to injury, the results of the scan the next day confirmed the seriousness. This made the Selecao striker extremely disappointed and expressed it on his personal Instagram page.
This is one of the worst days of my life. I've always been afraid of this injury (ACL), life is probably too cruel. I don't know if I deserve to suffer this or not, but now I don't know how to complain? I will have to miss the rest of the season and miss the World Cup with the national team, a dream that everyone knows how big it means.
Since 2023, Rodrygo is the 5th case of ACL injury for Real Madrid. The 4 stars who previously suffered this serious injury are Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao. Militao even suffered ACL 2 times in August 2023 and November 2024.
Rodrygo has been rumored to leave Real Madrid in the last 2 transfer windows. The Brazilian international has only scored 3 goals in 27 appearances, starting 6 matches in La Liga and 2 matches in the Champions League since the beginning of the season. Despite many rumors about leaving, Rodrygo has stayed and is trying to regain his form. When everything is gradually turning bright again, nightmares come again.
Rodrygo's injury has extended the list of Los Blancos stars who have to temporarily stop playing a lot this season. Jude Bellingham has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the match against Rayo Vallecano on February 1. Meanwhile, Militao has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury since December 7, 2025. Following that, key star Kylian Mbappe suffered a knee injury from December 2025, leading to him missing some recent matches of Real Madrid.
Although Rodrygo is not a top star in the front line like Mbappe or Vinicius, his importance in the team is not underestimated, especially when Real Madrid is preparing to rematch Man City in the 1/8 round of the UEFA Champions League. In the semi-finals of the 2021-2022 season, Rodrygo's 2 goals helped Real Madrid make a spectacular comeback in the final minutes of the match. After that, they advanced straight to the final and won the championship.
As for Rodrygo, missing the 2026 World Cup is also a very big shock. He was once removed from the squad list of the Brazilian national team under Carlo Ancelotti in the early stages but was then recalled in October and November 2025, scoring 2 goals in a friendly match with South Korea and assisting 1 time in a match against Senegal.
Rodrygo played all 5 matches for the Brazilian national team at the 2022 World Cup but did not show much. His penalty kick was blocked in the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, where Brazil lost to Croatia.
