Atletio Madrid lose Reinildo until next season due to ACL injury

Atletico Madrid’s Mozambican left-back Reinildo Mandava has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL in Saturday’s La Liga match against Real Madrid. 

The full-back was taken off after only 23 minutes in the Madrid derby and it has now been revealed that he will miss the rest of the season and then more time as he suffered one of the most dreaded injuries in football. 

ACL damage usually takes upwards of six months to recover from, so it is certain we will not see Reinildo again until at least next season. Atletico Madrid also announced that the Mozambican has already undergone surgery for the injury, which is the first phase of his recovery. 

In their statement, they claim that the surgery was “without incident” and “went according to plan” and also wished Reinildo well on his road to recovery. 

Reinildo had become a mainstay in the Atletico Madrid side since joining in the winter of 2022. He had played 33 games for the Rojiblanco in all competitions this season before his injury and is certainly going to be missed as Atletico Madrid enter the business end of the season.

Atletico Madrid will now have to depend on Sergio Reguillon, who has also been beset by injuries this season, or persist with Mario Hermoso at left-back as they did in the Madrid derby  

Due to the injury, Reinildo will also miss Mozambique’s crucial 2023 AFCON qualifiers against Rwanda and Benin Republic, which are set to take place in March.