German footballer and Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger snatched a late draw against Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk and saved his team from a potential upset against the Ukrainian outfit. The brave header from the German centreback got Real Madrid on terms after Oleksandr Zubkov's 46th-minute header gave Shakhtar a slender lead over Real Madrid.
The header from Rudiger came at a price, however, with the Real Madrid stopper feeling the full force of goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin with whom he collided heads. While the stormer of an equaliser came the aftermath in the form of a gruesome injury, Antonio was left Antonio with a bloody head and a gush of blood trickling down from his face dousing his white jersey red. Antonio was jarred by the clash but managed to divert the ball into the net and the 1-1 leaves Madrid top with 10 points and Shakhtar third a point behind second-placed RB Leipzig.
The collision left Antonio needing 20 stitches, but the valiant defender seemed unfazed by it. Reports from Spain claim that the Real Madrid defender will undergo treatment to determine how detrimental the Los Blancos defender’s heroics have caused a fractured skull or not. The Real Madrid star, right after getting his injury from the collision nursed, took to social media with a picture of himself bandaged up with the caption ‘We alive’. He also tweeted a motivational message which shows his warrior-like character "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I am okay - thanks for all your messages."
The act of throwing his body on the line and getting the desired result has helped Real Madrid extend their unbeaten track in the 2022-23 season to 12 matches. Rudiger's heroics saved the day as for Real Madrid on a night in Poland where the game was staged as Ukraine is currently under attack by the Russian forces which forced the game out of Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine has been playing its games in the neighbouring European countries – Poland and others.
