Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, has been ruled out for six weeks, after picking up a thumb injury against Valencia, in the 1-1 draw on Wednesday.

The Spanish number one, left the pitch after just 17 minutes of the game at Mestalla and the club have confirmed that he picked up a knock, which will see him miss important fixtures.

A statement on the Madrid website read: “After carrying out initial X-rays at the La Moraleja Sanitas Hospital, it has been confirmed that the footballer Iker Casillas has suffered a fracture at the base of the first metacarpal on his left hand,”

“It will be assessed again by a specialist later today to decide what treatment will be followed.”

Casillas will certainly miss the game at the Bernabeu against United and might be forced to sit out the return leg and the El Clasico game against Barcelona on March 2.

President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, insisted at a press conference on Thursday, that there were no problems between manager Jose Mourinho and members of the squad.

Perez was reacting to a report in Spanish newspaper, Marca, which speculated that goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos, had told the president during a meeting to choose between them and the former Chelsea boss.

“I break my rule not to speak to the press about the club’s day-by-day business due to the seriousness of the allegations published by Marca,” Perez said at the press conference.

“I’m not here to talk about Iker, only to deny the information that has come out this morning. I haven’t spoken to Mourinho, I came here of my own accord. They cannot play with an institution like Real Madrid.

“It is absolutely false that the captains said anything negative about the coach. No ultimatum was issued by Casillas or Ramos. The level of responsibility of the captains is incompatible with this information.

“The information published today [Thursday] is a pure lie and it’s a serious attack against the club. I have a lot of respect for the press and I always listen to criticism, regardless of whether I think it’s fair or not.

“But there are limits that must be respected. This is a serious matter. It is not a typical daily rumour, on who we sign or who we dismiss, It’s about ethics.”

After the press conference, Casillas and Ramos released a joint statement on the club’s website, supporting what Perez said.

“The two captains of Real Madrid want to communicate the following: That the meeting held on Tuesday with the president and CEO of the club never raised any ultimatum from us regarding the character of our coach,” the statement read.

“As captains of the staff and members of an excellent group of people and professionals, we categorically reject the use of our names and the rest of our squad’s in support of information that is entirely false.

“We want to show our support for the character of our coach, Jose Mourinho, to whom we owe the greatest respect.

“Finally, we wish to convey to the members and fans of Real Madrid our unalterable conviction that only through the unity of everyone at Real Madrid will we overcome all the challenges that we face each season.”