'We Alive'! Antonio Rudiger sends message to Madrid fans after brutal collision

Antonio Rudiger spared Real Madrid's blushes with a precocious extremity that qualified the reigning European champions for the Champions League circular of 16 connected Tuesday, but his reward was a brutal collision that saw him instrumentality to the Spanish superior with his caput bandaged up.

The Germany defender scored a 95th-minute equaliser against Shakhtar Donetsk to seal a 1-1 draw successful Warsaw, and successful the process suffered a nasty chopped to the forehead that saw him permission the tract covered successful humor and requiring stitches.

With the crippled successful added time, Madrid were trailing 1-0 with hosts Shakhtar -- who are forced to play location games successful the Polish superior owed to the ongoing warfare successful Ukraine -- adjacent to pulling disconnected a celebrated victory.

It was Rudiger's planetary teammate Toni Kroos who waved the 6-foot-3 centre-back up into the Shakhtar punishment area, knowing that Los Blancos' chances of a precocious extremity mightiness remainder connected his aerial ability. In the 92nd infinitesimal the archetypal accidental came, arsenic Kroos launched a quarterback-like walk into the container which Rudiger headed inches wide.

- Stream connected ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, much (U.S.)

It looked similar Madrid's infinitesimal had travel and gone. But 3 minutes aboriginal successful a c transcript of the earlier move, Kroos played the aforesaid shot and Rudiger roseate to caput it into the net.

The defender didn't get the accidental to celebrate, though.

Shakhtar's 21-year-old goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin had raced disconnected his enactment to effort to scope the shot archetypal and arsenic Rudiger headed it goalward, Trubin collided with him head-first. It was a sickening, worrying collision.

Rudiger pushed distant celebrating teammates and sank to his knees, dazed and already visibly bleeding.

Both players laic connected the turf, but it was the Madrid subordinate who looked to person travel disconnected the worse. His achromatic garment soaked successful blood, and struggling to spot done 1 eye, Rudiger was helped disconnected by aesculapian unit for further treatment.

Antonio Rudiger took a changeable arsenic helium collided with the keeper erstwhile scoring his past infinitesimal equalizer for Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/4NGMxRbqzi

The crippled finished seconds aboriginal -- and naturally, the absorption was connected the information of extremity scorer Rudiger. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was speedy to calm immoderate superior concerns successful his postmatch TV interview.

"He chopped his forehead, it's rather a agelong cut, but he's okay," Ancelotti said, earlier laughing: "He wanted to travel backmost on!"

Later successful his quality conference, Ancelotti offered much details: "He's being stitched up. He's conscious, talking, smiling, blessed to person scored."

Kroos added: "I've seen amended pictures, to beryllium honest. It's tough, there's a batch of blood, arsenic you saw connected the pitch. Let's anticipation he's backmost arsenic soon arsenic possible."

Rudiger himself took to Instagram aboriginal connected to assure fans that helium was OK. "What doesn't termination you makes you stronger!" the subordinate said successful a post, earlier adding an representation to his communicative that showed him smiling -- portion sporting a important bandage covering his forehead and 1 oculus -- connected the team's formation backmost to Madrid.

"We alive," the understated caption said.

Rudiger volition acquisition further tests connected Wednesday, with his information present successful uncertainty for Sunday's Clasico with LaLiga rivals Barcelona (stream LIVE, Sunday astatine 10:15 a.m. ET connected ESPN+ successful the U.S..)

The 29-year-old is nary alien to putting his caput wherever it hurts. In 2021, portion playing for Chelsea, helium wore a protective disguise successful the Champions League semifinal 2nd limb against Madrid aft sustaining a stroke to the look during the archetypal leg, a 1-1 gully astatine the Bernabeu.

At the time, manager Thomas Tuchel said Rudiger had "a small bony wounded connected the broadside of the face" though it was aboriginal reported that helium had successful information breached his jaw, making his colossal show successful Chelsea's 2-0 triumph astatine Stamford Bridge conscionable 8 days aboriginal each the much impressive.

And portion Rudiger did not deterioration the disguise erstwhile Chelsea bushed Manchester City successful that season's Champions League final, helium did don it again erstwhile representing Germany astatine that summer's European Championship.