Real Madrid centre-back Eder Militao is facing a spell on the sidelines due to the knee injury that he suffered during his side's 2023-24 La Liga opener on Saturday night.

Los Blancos started their campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames, with Rodrygo opening the scoring in the 28th minute before Jude Bellingham doubled the away side's advantage eight minutes later.

The win came at a cost, though, with key defender Militao being forced off in the early stages of the second period due to a knee injury.

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the match that the Brazil international had "sprained his knee", and he will now undergo tests to determine the extent of the damage.

"He sprained his knee. It doesn't look good and we will assess it in the next few hours. Hopefully, it's nothing serious. We're concerned and we're not ruling anything out," Ancelotti told reporters.

Real Madrid have already lost their number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to a serious knee injury, with the Belgium international set to miss the whole of the season after damaging his ACL.

Meanwhile, new signing Arda Guler could also be forced to undergo a knee operation in the near future.

The capital giants were able to open their campaign with a win, though, and Ancelotti has praised his team for their performance in the two-goal success.

"We played well, especially in the first half, when we showed a lot of intensity. In the second half, we slowed down and had less control, but we did well at the back," he told reporters after the clash.

"It's evident that when the team is collectively committed and has the right attitude, we are stronger defensively. The team was well positioned and strong in the duels.

"In the first half, we won back a lot of balls. The team is comfortable playing this way and we worked really well defensively."

Ancelotti also praised Andriy Lunin, with the Ukrainian given the nod between the sticks due to Courtois's absence, but he will soon face competition from another goalkeeper, with Kepa Arrizabalaga widely expected to arrive on loan from Chelsea.

"He's done really well. He was very calm and focused. He moved the ball well from the back and he was good with the high balls. He showed confidence and concentration," said the Italian.

Real Madrid, who are also currently missing Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy through injury, will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in the new season when they travel to Almeria on August 19. body check tags ::