Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, departed Thursday’s practice due to what club insiders described as a possible ACL injury. There are reasons to be pessimistic about Courtois’ injury since he was sobbing when he left the practice field.

As soon as the swelling goes down, Courtois will have an MRI, which will determine the full degree of his injury. However, even if he avoided tearing his ACL, it appears that Real Madrid will be without their top goalie for a very long time.

Courtois’ replacement in the starting lineup in his absence is likely to be backup goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, however Real Madrid may look to sign another goalkeeper during this transfer window if they believe Lunin isn’t ready to compete at the highest level. The departure of the Ukrainian goalkeeper, who was anticipated to leave the team this summer, would undoubtedly alter Madrid’s plans.