La Liga struck by two ACL injuries in one day as Villarreal star ruled out for remainder of 2024-25 season

During Saturday’s early kick-off between Real Madrid and Osasuna, Eder Militao ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament – doing so for the second time in 15 months. Unfortunately, the Brazilian defender was not the only La Liga player to suffer that fate on that day, as Villarreal winger Ilias Akhomach was also affected.

Shortly after scoring the opening goal in Villarreal’s 3-0 victory at home to Alaves, Ilias suffered a complete tear of his anterior cruciate ligament – this was confirmed by the Yellow Submarine on Sunday. As well as this, he also sprained internal lateral ligament.

Ilias, who joined Villarreal from Barcelona in the summer of 2023, has been in strong form this season, but he is now not expected to play again until the 2025-26 campaign. In the coming days, he will undergo surgery, after which he can begin the long road to recovery.

Losing Ilias for the remainder of the season is a massive blow for Villarreal, with the only good news being that they already have a ready-made replacement in Yeremy Pino.