On Tuesday, an Argentinos Juniors defender broke his left leg during a Copa Libertadores match in Buenos Aires. Luciano Sanchez, 29, was seriously injured after being tackled by former Real Madrid left-back Marcelo, who is now playing for Fluminense in Brazil. Marcelo was dribbling past Sanchez when his leading foot went past the ball and landed hard on the Argentine’s shin. The Argentinos player’s leg buckled underneath him at a terrifying angle, leaving him on the ground in pain.
As the Argentinian screamed on the pitch, surrounded by worried players from both sides, the former Real Madrid legend was sent off in tears. The incident occurred in the 56th minute of the game, which ended 1-1.
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According to Argentinos, Sanchez had been moved to the nearby Finochietto Sanatorium for treatment and doctors estimated Sanchez’ recovery time to be between eight and twelve months as a result of the incident.
Fluminense manager Fernando Diniz, who also manages Brazil’s national team until the middle of next year, stated in a news conference that Marcelo did not deserve to be sent off and that the incident was “an unfortunate event.”
In the 14th minute of the first leg of the round-of-16 game, Gabriel Avalos scored for the hosts with a volley. Later in the game, Argentinos goalkeeper Alexis Martin Arias was sent off in the 76th minute and was replaced by substitute midfielder Luciano Heredia until the final whistle.
Fluminense took full advantage of the opportunity and equalized from long range with Samuel Xavier in the 87th minute.