Antonio Rudiger has shown off the scars of the injury he sustained in a heated tie with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
The 29-year-old former Chelsea center-back was left bloodied in the head after he headed in a stoppage-time equaliser in Real Madrid’s clash with the Ukrainian champions.
The Los Blancos were trailing by a lone goal before Rudiger headed in a late equalizer for the team but swung into a bitter and scary clash with the Shakhtar Donetsk goalkeeper.
The clash culminated in a deep and open wound which left the German international in a pool of blood.
Details of the injury revealed that Rudiger needed about 20 stitches to stitch up the opening to aid the healing process.
He was flown back to Madrid but was swathed in bandages on the head.
Allaying the fears of Madrid fans over the severity of the wound, Rudiger shared a selfie while on the plane to show that he is in good condition.
Despite still recovering from the injury, Carlo Ancelotti included the ex-Chelsea star in the squad for the El-Clasico and later brought on the player from the bench.
He was also used in Real Madrid’s subsequent La Liga games against Elche and Sevilla but was masked up to protect the wound.
Rudiger featured in Real Madrid’s Champions League loss against RB Leipzig in Germany, and it has been confirmed that the wound has not completely healed.
During the pre-match press conference, a eyeball colored with blood and deeply red could be spotted, indicating that he is still battling to heal.
The stitches were also visible, but the defender was in good spirits ready for the Champions League clash.
Rudiger stated that he is very happy at Real Madrid, and is satisfied with his performance so far in the team.
“I’m satisfied with my performances”, he affirmed. “I feel I’m on a good run, I don’t have to play every game because we have a large squad with a lot of quality.
“I feel I’m a 10 out of 10. I’m surprised at how quickly I’ve adapted. I had the help of [Toni] Kroos and [David] Alaba.
“I’m very happy. As I said in my presentation, I’m going to give 100 per cent for this club,” Rudiger said.
Antonio Rudiger
Antonio Rudiger, born on 3rd March 1993 in Berlin, Germany, is a 29-year-old Real Madrid center-back who plays for Germany’s national team.
Rudiger started his youth career in 2000, playing for VfB Sperber Neukollr.
He spent 12 years of his youth career playing for different clubs in Germany, including Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart.
Rudiger made his first senior club appearance in 2011, playing for VfB Stuttgart II.
He spent four years with Stuttgart II and also featured for the main team between 2012 to 2016.
Rudiger made 22 appearances for Stuttgart II, scoring 3 goals, and 66 appearances for the main team, scoring 2 goals.
In 2015, he was sent on a season-long loan to Roma, where he made 30 appearances, scoring 2 goals.
The loan move was converted to a permanent one-year contract in 2016, in which he made additional 26 appearances for the Serie A side.
After the end of his one-year contract with Roma, Antonio Rudiger joined Premier League club, Chelsea, in 2017 on a five-year contract.
He made 133 appearances and scored 9 goals throughout his five-year spell with the Blues.
On June 2, 2022, Real Madrid signed Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea as a free agent after he refused to renew his Chelsea contract.
He penned down a four-year deal with the La Liga Champions and made his debut for the club on August 10 in a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup.
In 2014, Antonio Rudiger made his debut for Germany’s national team.
He has been capped 54 times and has scored 2 goals for the team.
Rudiger won the 2017 Confederations Cup with Germany.
He has won the EFL Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, Europa League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea.
He also won the UEFA Super Cup in his debut match with Real Madrid after a win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
