Thibaut Courtois

Belgium's number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he will not go to next year's European Championship in order to fully recover from a knee injury, he told Belgian TV station VRT broadcast on Tuesday.

"I need to recover fully, so it's better to provide clarity now," the Real Madrid player said.

"If I'm lucky, I might be able to play a match come May, but I'll never be ready for the tournament. I can't be in the goal at 80% or 85%, I should step aside for other good players."

Courtois Euro 2024

MADRID — Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will be sidelined for several months as he requires surgery after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during Thursday's training session, the LaLiga club said.

The 31-year-old Belgian international left the practice field in tears and an MRI scan confirmed the ACL tear two days ahead of Real's LaLiga season debut at Athletic Bilbao.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois asked not to travel with Belgium for their Euro 2024 qualifier in Estonia on Tuesday, telling shocked coach Domenico Tedesco he did not feel respected within the team as he walked out of the squad.

Courtois, 31, played in Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Austria but told Tedesco after the match that he would not make himself available for the Estonia game.

Tedesco says Courtois's unhappiness spilled over when striker Romelu Lukaku was given the captain's armband for the Austria game in the absence of injured regular skipper Kevin De Bruyne.

LIVERPOOL, England - Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp conceded that he had not been able to bring himself to rewatch last season's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid until this past weekend, insisting reliving the experience was "torture."

The Reds won their first three matches against Real in European competition, between 1981 and 2009. Since then, however, they are winless in six games against them, with five of those ending in defeat.