Covered in blood and 20 stitches: Rüdiger has to pay dearly for his late heroic deed

Created: 2022-10-13 05:25

By: Christoph Klaucke

Antonio Rüdiger received a brutal head hit in the Champions League.

© Antonio Rüdiger/Instagram/Imago

Antonio Rüdiger heads Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Champions League.

The national player conceded a bloody head hit when he scored.

Warsaw – "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger": Antonio Rüdiger paid for his debut goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League with a painful headshot.

The German international headed the Whites in the fifth minute of added time against Shakhtar Donetsk to make it 1-1.

After his collision with the opposing goalkeeper, Rüdiger lay on the ground covered in blood.

Champions League: Antonio Rüdiger's forehead won't stop bleeding

His face and white shirt were covered in blood as Antonio Rüdiger was escorted off after his fifth-minute stoppage-time equalizer against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw.

A supervisor pressed a cloth on Rüdiger's forehead to stop the heavy bleeding.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," the 29-year-old wrote on Instagram after midnight, reassuring fans: "I'm okay.

Thanks for all your messages.” As various media reports, he had to be sewn up with 20 stitches beforehand.

What happened?

After a long cross from former world champion Toni Kroos, Rüdiger, who had moved up, clashed with Donetsk keeper Anatolij Trubin when he scored a header.

Their heads banged violently, both players seemed dazed at first.

While Rüdiger got back on his feet relatively quickly, Trubin was treated lying on the grass for minutes.

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Antonio Rüdiger: Real star suffers brutal lacerations in the Champions League

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed afterwards that Rüdiger's injury was a "rather long" laceration.

"He wanted to get back on the pitch, but then he realized he was injured," said the Italian, who gave the all-clear: "I think it's nothing serious." "I've seen more beautiful pictures in my life," he said, "it's a lot of blood.

I hope he comes back soon.”

At least Rüdiger's commitment was worth it: The defending champions qualified early for the round of 16 of the premier class thanks to the late equalizer and avoided an embarrassing defeat shortly before the important Clásico on Sunday at home to arch-rivals FC Barcelona.