Eduardo Camavinga 'facing eight weeks on sidelines with knee injury'

The 21-year-old was called into the France squad for their final two Euro 2024 qualification matches against Gibraltar and Greece on November 18 and November 21 respectively.

However, he has been forced to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury that he suffered during a training session on Wednesday, allegedly colliding with Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele.

"Eduardo Camavinga, who had to cut short his training session on Wednesday, went for exams in the evening, accompanied by Dr. Franck Le Gall, the French team doctor," the French Football Federation said in a statement.

"The Real Madrid midfielder suffers from a sprained right knee. He was released today to his club. Didier Deschamps decided to call Khephren Thuram as reinforcement."

According to AS, due to the severity of the problem, Camavinga could be out for the next eight weeks, forcing him to miss a number of important games for Real Madrid.

The report claims that the midfielder will undergo further examinations on Thursday or Friday to determine the exact nature of the problem, which was not initially believed to be serious.

Camavinga is said to have clashed knees with Dembele, which led to him remaining on the ground for treatment, and he could now be missing for the rest of the year.

The former Rennes youngster has been a vital player for Real Madrid this season, featuring on 17 occasions in all competitions, and the injury blow will be even harder for Los Blancos to take considering that fellow French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is also currently out with a broken foot.

Real Madrid have another seven matches before the end of the year, while Camavinga could also be absent for the team's first three games of 2024 depending on the severity of the problem.

The injury could force head coach Carlo Ancelotti into a rethink in terms of his formation, although Luka Modric and Dani Ceballos are both currently struggling for starts and would be options to come into the midfield alongside regulars Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos.

Ancelotti would also have the option of bringing Jude Bellingham back into a deeper position, but he will be reluctant to change the spot of a player who has 13 goals this season while operating as the number 10.

Bellingham has been forced to withdraw from the England camp due to a shoulder problem that also saw him miss out against Valencia in Real Madrid's last match.

However, the club are hopeful that their leading goalscorer will be available for the La Liga clash with Cadiz on November 26.