Real Madrid Midfielder missed training on Saturday and faces further tests

Luka Modric has been ruled out of Real Madrid's clash with Eibar due to a knee injury and could be forced into having a operation.

Following Tuesday night's draw away to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, the Croatian failed to train with the first-team.

Despite returning to Valdebebas as normal on Friday, the former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker skipped Saturday's session in order to undergo tests on a problem with his left knee.

"Following tests carried out on Luka Modric at the Sanitas La Moraleja University hospital, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the articular cartilage in his left knee," read a Real Madrid statement. "His recovery will continue to be monitored."

Now the club are left to decide between two routes; an arthroscopy to try to alleviate the pain in his left knee, or a more conservative treatment.

As a result of the injury, Modric is estimated to be out for a m month, missing Croatia's upcoming World Cup qualifiers on October 6 and 9 against Kosovo and Finland respectively.

The midfielder has been a key figure under Zinedine Zidane and has become one of the first names on the team sheet at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.