Real Madrid’s Courtois to miss El Classico due to illness

Real Madrid have suffered a major setback ahead of their El Clasico clash against Barcelona after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out of Sunday’s La Liga encounter due to illness.

The Belgian goalkeeper has contracted the flu and will miss the Matchday 10 fixture at Camp Nou, forcing Madrid to turn to Ukrainian shot-stopper Andriy Lunin.

The development comes at a crucial time for Real Madrid, who trail Barcelona by six points in the La Liga standings and need a positive result to strengthen their title challenge.

Real Madrid confirmed Courtois’ late withdrawal in a statement released hours before kick-off.

“Courtois is a last-minute withdrawal from tonight’s LaLiga ...