Atlético mocks Valverde’s return and the “medical community”

Atlético mocked Federico Valverde’s recovery after Real Madrid included him in its squad for the next match. The club posted a message on social media expressing scepticism about the severity of the player’s ankle injury. It wrote: “We want to congratulate Real Madrid for continuing to make history by proving that 100% of the world’s medical community was wrong.”

The dig referred to the severity previously attributed to Valverde’s injury after the derby. Real Madrid had said that a tackle by Kang-in Lee in that match had caused a serious injury. In Atlético’s view, the player’s swift return did not fit that diagnosis, prompting the club’s description of a “miraculous recovery.”

The message’s barbed tone was reinforced by tags referring to a miraculous recovery, a medical report and a grade-three sprain. Atlético turned Valverde’s inclusion in the squad for the next match into an opportunity to publicly question the seriousness of his injury.