Real Madrid said on Tuesday that Federico Valverde's ankle injury is a grade 3 sprain, and gave no date for his return. Valverde was hurt in Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Atlético Madrid, and the club's report added only that his progress would be monitored.

Is Valverde injured?

Yes. Real Madrid's first report, on Sunday evening, found severe trauma to his left ankle and said he would have more tests within hours. Those tests took place on Tuesday rather than Monday. According to El Español, the ankle was too swollen for them to go ahead a day earlier.

The second report named the injury as a grade 3 sprain. Grade 3 is the highest grade on the standard scale for ankle sprains, but the club did not say which ligaments are affected. That detail is missing from every estimate below.

What happened to Valverde?

The injury came from a challenge by Kang-in Lee late in the first half at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Lee was not booked. Valverde stayed on and played the whole match, which Real Madrid lost after Dean Huijsen was sent off early in the second half.

Afterwards, José Mourinho opened his press conference by holding up printed photographs of Lee's challenge and of Cristian Romero's on Jude Bellingham, and said both were clear red cards. The rest of the afternoon is in our derby recap.

How long will Valverde be out?

Real Madrid have not said, and the figures being reported do not agree. El Español reported two to three weeks, with the home game against Villarreal on 10 October as the target if there are no complications. OKDiario reported that the club is working to a timeline of about two weeks. Teledoce, the Uruguayan broadcaster, noted that injuries of this kind can mean six weeks out or more.

The international break helps at first. Real Madrid's next match is Villarreal at the Bernabéu on 10 October, 20 days after the derby. Two weeks would have him back with days to spare. Three weeks would run to 11 October, the day after. Four days after the Villarreal game, Real Madrid are away to Roma in the Champions League.

The Clásico at Barcelona on 25 October falls exactly five weeks after the injury. Any absence of three weeks or less has him back before it. A six-week absence would not.

Uruguay have already lost him. Valverde was in interim coach Diego Forlán's squad for friendlies against Japan on 24 September, South Korea on 28 September and India on 6 October. The Uruguayan FA has confirmed he will miss all three, and has called up the Palmeiras midfielder Emiliano Martínez in his place.

Who else is out for Real Madrid?

Valverde joins three players who were already missing before the derby. Real Madrid's report on Saturday's final training session said Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão and Rodrygo were still working through their recovery, as they had been when the derby preview was published. That report gave no timeline for any of them.