Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde will miss Sunday's El Clásico against Barcelona with a head injury following an altercation with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni.
"After the tests carried out today on our player Fede Valverde by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a cranioencephalic trauma," the LaLiga club said in a statement.
"Valverde is at home in good condition and will need to rest for 10 to 14 days, as indicated by medical protocols for this diagnosis."
There was no reported injury with Tchouaméni, a 26-year-old France international.
The altercation broke out during Thursday's training, just a day after the two midfielders were involved in another incident during Wednesday's session.
Valverde had to be taken to the hospital, where he was treated for a cut on his forehead, the 27-year-old Uruguay captain confirmed in a statement.
Madrid have also announced that they have opened disciplinary proceedings against both players.
"The club will announce the resolutions of both cases in due course, once the corresponding internal procedures have been completed," the LaLiga club said.
A source has told ESPN's Rodra that the fight broke out at the end of training following a practice match with some heavy challenges. Tchouaméni went to the changing room, and Valverde then entered, looking very tense. That's where they got into a fight, the source said.
Valverde admitted to what he described as a "run-in" with a teammate in a lengthy statement, though he stopped short of naming Tchouaméni specifically.
"Yesterday, I had an incident with a teammate stemming from a play during training, a situation where the fatigue of competition and sheer frustration caused everything to get blown out of proportion," Valverde said.
"Today, we had another run-in. During the argument, I accidentally struck a table, sustaining a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital."
The tension between Valverde and Tchouaméni started when Xabi Alonso was still at the club, according to a source. Alonso left Madrid's coaching position in January only seven months after being appointed.
"My teammate [Tchouaméni] didn't hit me, nor did I hit him. Although I understand that for you it might be easier to believe that we beat the hell out of each other or that he intentionally injured me, that is not what happened," Valverde added.
"I am truly sorry for this situation. It gives me pain. It hurts to see what we are currently going through.
"Real Madrid is one of the most important things in my life, and I cannot remain indifferent to it. This outcome is the culmination of various factors that ultimately resulted in a senseless altercation, one that damages my reputation and leaves room for doubt, allowing for fabrications, defamation, and the sensationalizing of what was merely an accident."
Madrid could see Barcelona celebrate the league title at the Camp Nou on Sunday. The Catalan club needs only a draw to win its second league title in a row.
Last Friday, ESPN revealed that the bad results had moved into the dressing room and that there had already been several incidents of tension since the start of the season.
Sources told ESPN about another moment of tension when Antonio Rüdiger lost his nerve and caused a heated altercation with a teammate at Valdebebas.
ESPN did not reveal the name of the other person involved at the time, but Álvaro Carreras himself confirmed in a statement that he had had an altercation with a teammate.
In that report, ESPN also revealed other arguments over the past few weeks between Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa and several of his players, including Dani Ceballos and Raúl Asencio.
Moreover, it is well known that there has been a lack of rapport between club captain Dani Carvajal and Arbeloa since the latter took over as manager.
Following Alonso's sacking, ESPN revealed that the manager left Real Madrid with friction toward three key players in the dressing room -- Vinícius Júnior, Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
Other sources told ESPN that in the last few weeks there have also been some incidents involving another star of the team, Kylian Mbappé, with members of Arbeloa's staff.
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Madrid, meanwhile, are still searching for what will be their fourth manager in the past two years.
Regarding this, sources have informed ESPN that there are differing views between those responsible for selecting the new manager and that there is a long list of candidates, including Jose Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp, Didier Deschamps, Lionel Scaloni, Massimiliano Allegri and even Unai Emery.
ESPN's Rodra and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
