The surrounding David Alaba at Real Madrid with an injury that has become more complicated

David Alaba has been out of action for nine months, recovering from a knee injury that was more serious than expected and the uncertainty of his return

David Alaba is a at Real Madrid. Nine months have passed since he suffered an injury to his left knee and there is still no date for his return. The physical condition of the centre-back, who arrived as a substitute for Sergio Ramos, who took the number 4 shirt of the Sevillian and who left an image that has gone down in history by raising a chair in the air after the comeback against Paris Saint-Germain at the Bernabéu, is an unknown. “We don’t need to sign a centre-back because Alaba will recover soon and we have the youngsters,” said Ancelotti in mid-August. The transfer market was open, the club failed to sign Leny Yoro, the young French centre-back left for Manchester United, and with Nacho leaving for Saudi Arabia, they decided to keep Jesús Vallejo. Real Madrid refused to reinforce the centre-back position in the hope that David Alaba would be ready for October. That is the date that the club was considering, but the plans with the Austrian are slow and shrouded in . With Alaba, many precautions must be taken so that the 32-year-old centre-back does not suffer a relapse of the anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee that he suffered due to a bad move in the match against Villarreal on December 17 last year. The injury was more serious than the diagnosis provided. David Alaba had an affected meniscus and had to undergo surgery again to find solutions.

He put himself in the hands of specialist Christian Fink, under the supervision of Real Madrid doctors, in Innsbruck (Austria). He has been undergoing check-ups in his country, he went to the European Championship to be a member of the staff and at Real Madrid there is no date set for his return. It seems premature that it could happen in November. The long period of time he has been out and the uncertainty of how he will recover from his knee, upset Ancelotti’s plans. The Real Madrid coach is putting a good face on bad weather, but he has already had to use Carvajal to play as a centre-back in the match against Stuttgart and Tchouaméni in the league match against Espanyol. With absences in the centre of the field due to the injuries of Ceballos and Brahim Díaz, the Frenchman has had to return to the centre of defence to give Rüdiger a break.

The last option is Jesús Vallejo, as was demonstrated in the match against Alavés. Ancelotti brought the Zaragoza centre-back on in the 80th minute, with a very favourable result (3-0) and heeding the Bernabéu’s request. “Take Vallejo off, Carletto take Vallejo off,” the crowd shouted. His entry coincided with Alavés’ reaction, two goals that caused and in which Vallejo noticed the inactivity. Last season he only played three games with Granada. The problem with the centre-backs is waiting for the evolution of David Alaba and considering whether it is necessary to go to the winter market to make a signing.