Real Madrid have confirmed defender Ibrahima Konate has suffered a knee ligament injury, though he is expected to be available after the international break.

The France centre-back pulled out of Zinedine Zidane’s first Les Bleus squad for their UEFA Nations League matches after being unable to finish training on Wednesday.

The French Football Federation said Konate had suffered from a “slight sprain”, with the former Liverpool centre-back replaced in the squad by Manchester United’s Lenny Yoro.

And in a statement released on Thursday, Madrid revealed the nature of the injury.

It read: “Following the tests carried out today on our player Ibrahima Konate by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a collateral ligament injury in his right leg.”

Reports in Spain have claimed that, should his recovery go to plan, Konate will be able to feature after the break.

Madrid face Villarreal on October 10, when they will look to bounce back from a contentious 2-1 defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid.

Centre-back Dean Huijsen will be suspended for that game, having been sent off in the derby loss, which left Madrid six points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona.