Player Status. Ecuador midfielder Denil Castillo lasted only 27 minutes of FC Midtjylland’s 2-1 derby win at Viborg on Monday. He went off with what TV 2 described as a hamstring injury, picked up as he was played in behind the defense.

An early exit in Viborg

Castillo started as one of the two attacking midfielders behind striker Friday Etim in Mike Tullberg’s 3-4-2-1, according to FotMob’s lineup, and was replaced by Sofus Johannesen in the 27th minute. FotMob rated his short spell at 6.27.

After a goalless first half at Energi Viborg Arena, captain Rasmus Nissen Kristensen headed Midtjylland in front in the 51st minute from Philip Billing’s assist. Dorian Hanza headed Viborg level in the 59th, and Billing scored the winner in the 66th, according to FotMob. Campo noted that it was Midtjylland’s 14th league game in a row away from home without a defeat, which keeps them on the heels of leaders FC København.

How bad is it?

There is no official diagnosis yet. Tullberg’s first read was not encouraging. “It looked like a fibre injury. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve had something similar myself quite a few times, so it looks like a fibre injury,” he said after the game, according to Bold. A fibre injury is a tear in the muscle, and PLbold noted that the extent of the damage has not been established.

Campo called it “certainly not good news” for Tullberg. Castillo joins an injury list that already includes Elías Ólafsson, Magnus Jensen, Martin Erlić and Mikel Gogorza. Midtjylland’s own match review on Tuesday only noted that Castillo had to come off early, and the club had not given an update on his condition on X by Tuesday morning.

Muscle problems have interrupted Castillo’s club form before. In late March he left the Ecuador camp after medical tests and returned to Midtjylland for rehab, and earlier in the 2025-26 season a muscle injury forced him off in tears in a Europa League game against Roma and kept him out of three Superliga games, Campo reported at the time.

The La Tri angle

Castillo was in Gallardo’s squad for the Asia tour, but was an unused substitute in the October 5 game against Panama. His last Ecuador minutes came on September 24 against South Korea (23 minutes), according to FotMob. Ecuador host Costa Rica on November 13 and Bolivia on November 17, less than four weeks from now.

Midtjylland host Sint-Truiden in the Conference League on Thursday, October 22 (3:00 PM ET), and Lyngby in the Superliga on Sunday, October 25 (9:00 AM ET). His latest numbers are on our Players Tracker.