Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admits losing Thibaut Courtois is a heavy blow.

An ACL injury means the Belgium goalkeeper will miss the season.

Ancelotti said: "Yesterday wasn't a good day for us mentally. We had an injury to a key player, but that happens in football. I want to wish Courtois a speedy recovery and I'm going to put my faith in (Andriy) Lunin, who's a top goalkeeper. He did really well in the pre-season because he's a great player and he's talented. He lacks the experience but now he'll take everything one game at a time.

“As a group, we're extremely saddened by what has happened. This kind of situation will continue to happen and for this reason we have a very large squad."

On Lunin, who starts against Athletic Bilbao tonight, he said: “I'm relaxed about Lunin. Now we have to think until 31 August. We've got very young and promising goalkeepers like Cañizares and Fran. We'll think about it in the next few days. Fran is 17 years old and if we sign a new goalkeeper it is for numbers, but I have faith in Lunin. In the next few days, we'll think about whether to add another goalkeeper to the squad. We'll stick with Lunin because we have faith in him.

“We're sad that a teammate has to miss out for a while, but we have to look forward. At the time of the injury we all thought about putting our faith in Lunin."

Ancelotti added: “My type of goalkeeper is one who saves with his hands. That's what I ask of all the goalkeepers I've had. They have to be good with their hands. The forwards have to be good with their feet, they have to be clinical."