Real Madrid star hospitalized after locker room brawl with teammate

Valverde was said to have been left needing stitches after landing awkwardly following Tchouaméni's punch -Credit:Angel Martinez/Getty Images

While Tchouaméni refuted Valverde’s claims, the latter continued to point accusations his way throughout training, with tensions rising accordingly throughout the team.

Naturally, this led to Valverde and Tchouaméni taking out their frustrations on one another during training in a session labeled “unpleasant,” all while others watched on, perplexed. This seemingly included head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who opted not to get in the middle of things.

This didn’t stop Valverde, however, who ‘relentlessly’ continued to throw accusations towards Tchouaméni even after training had finished. And while the French international is said to have opted to take a moment in the locker room to 'calmly' attempt to end the situation, the Uruguayan couldn’t be stopped.

Despite efforts from others to calm the escalating situation, Tchouaméni seemingly opted to take the situation into his own hands at this point. Valverde is said to be left with a gash in a fall.

Wheelchaired away from the facility, Valverde later needed stitches at the Sanitas La Moraleja hospital.

Unsurprisingly, the club’s bosses are now looking into the finer details of exactly what took place and what steps need to be taken next.

An emergency meeting was held involving the full first team, with general director José Ángel Sánchez leading the way, via AS. While no ruling has yet been reached, both players could miss out on upcoming games, including Sunday’s potentially title-deciding El Clásico at Camp Nou.

Whats more, according to Melchor Ruiz, there is a possibility that Real could follow the club’s own rulebook and suspend the player(s) without pay for between three and 10 games, or if the situation is deemed serious enough, between 11 and 20 games. Alternatively, the player(s) could be sold.

As things stand, Barca are 11 points clear at the top of the league with Real in second. After this, both teams will have just three more games before the La Liga season comes to a close and attention turns to the FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

France have been drawn into Group I alongside Norway, Senegal, and Iraq. Uruguay will compete in Group H against Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde.