Unai Egiluz suffers ACL retear

Athletic Club said on May 15 that centre-back Unai Egiluz has suffered a new tear of the anterior cruciate ligament graft in his right knee after leaving training the previous day at Lezama. The club disclosed the setback in a medical report and did not publish a recovery timetable. The injury comes after Egiluz spent most of the season recovering from an earlier ACL tear in the same knee. Athletic had registered him with the senior squad in February as he worked back toward availability. ### What exactly did Athletic Club say about the injury? Athletic Club said in its May 15 medical report that Egiluz “had to withdraw from yesterday’s training session” and that tests confirmed “a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament graft in his right knee.” The statement was posted on the club’s official website. The club’s wording matters because it identifies the injury as a tear of the graft, not a first-time rupture. Athletic did not say when surgery might take place or whether other structures in the knee were affected. ### When did Egiluz first injure the same knee? On July 30, 2025, Egiluz injured his right knee during Athletic’s friendly against Racing Santander, according to an earlier club medical report. A week later, on August 7, Athletic said surgery on the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee had been successful. That first injury interrupted what Athletic had presented as a step into the first-team picture. The club had renewed Egiluz through 2028 in July 2025 and later listed him as a first-team player. ### How far along was he in his comeback? On February 18, 2026, Egiluz told local media through the club that his “dream is to play at San Mamés” as he prepared to return to full training. Athletic’s English-language report that day said he was returning to group work after the long layoff caused by the July injury. On February 2, 2026, Athletic said Egiluz had been registered to play in LaLiga and would wear the No. 13 shirt for the rest of the season. The move put him formally in the senior squad even as he continued his recovery. ### Who is Egiluz in Athletic’s squad plans? Unai Egiluz is a centre-back from Durango who spent the 2024-25 season on loan at CD Mirandés before returning to Athletic, according to the club’s player profile. Athletic says he made his official senior debut in the Copa match against Rubí and signed a contract running to 2028. At 23, he had been positioned as one of the younger defenders pushing for a place in Ernesto Valverde’s first-team group. Athletic’s official profile says he was “gearing up for a senior breakthrough” before the first ACL injury in preseason. ### What does this mean for the rest of Athletic’s season? Athletic’s official fixture list shows the first team are scheduled to host RC Celta at San Mamés on Sunday, May 17 at 19:00. The club schedule page lists that match among the side’s upcoming fixtures. LaLiga’s club fixture page shows Athletic are in the final stretch of the 2025-26 league season. With no timeline yet published for Egiluz, the immediate next step on the public record is the club’s handling of his treatment and any later medical update. Athletic Club’s official schedule page lists RC Celta on May 17 at San Mamés as the next first-team match, and the club has not yet announced a recovery timetable for Egiluz.