Madrid, Oct 6 : Following a serious injury to Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal, who left the pitch screaming in pain, after seemingly overextending his knee in a collision with Yeremy Pino during the match against Villarreal on Sunday (IST), the Spaniard's wife Daphne Canizares has posted a message of support for the veteran.

'It still feels like a bad dream. To see how you were so sad and going through so much pain... and you tried to make me smile. I love and admire you immensely. Your path back to where you are the happiest starts today. Stronger. Because you always give your all. You still have a lot to win, my life. Thank you for so many messages. And to our Real Madrid family, we felt so loved yesterday, I have no words,' read the message by Daphne on her Instagram story.

Carvajal joined Real Madrid from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 and has gone on to represent Los Blancos on 427 occasions. He has scored 14 goals for the club with the most important coming against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final.

His absence will be a huge miss for Real Madrid which was confirmed by head coach Ancelotti who was distraught with one of his most experienced player's injury.

'"He's an essential player for us because of his experience. We're going to wait, I've spoken to him and he's sad and disappointed. We can't do much about it now,' said Ancelotti in the post game conference

The reigning La Liga champions extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to 41 games (30 wins and 11 draws) with a 2-0 win over Villareal. Carvajal shared a message for his fans on social media, which confirmed that he will undergo surgery in the coming days.

'A serious cruciate ligament injury has been confirmed, I will have to undergo surgery and be off the pitch for a few months. I'm already looking forward to starting the recovery and coming back like a beast. Thank you all very much for your messages, I feel very loved,' he posted on X.

/IANS