Real Madrid defender David Alaba sustained a serious knee injury during Sunday’s 4-1 La Liga victory over Villarreal and will be out for months.
The Austrian centre defender attempted to challenge Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno and went off injured in the first half.
“After the tests carried out on our player David Alaba, he has been diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee,” Madrid said in a statement.
“The player will undergo surgery in the coming days.”
In addition to defender Eder Militao and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois‘ cruciate ligament injuries, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga is also out with a ruptured knee ligament. Alaba’s injury is an additional injury to these players.
There are just two healthy central defenders for Madrid: Nacho Fernandez and Antonio Rudiger.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti may decide to use midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who made his injury comeback against Villarreal, to cover in defence.
Following Alaba’s injury, Ancelotti told reporters, “It’s a shame; it’s very sad, and I’ve never had three cruciate ligament problems in four months.”
“We have carried that and done more than what people thought.”
Due to a hamstring injury, star forward Vinicius Junior is also sidelined for Madrid; however, Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo Goes have filled in for the Brazilian.
Along with Luka Modric, all three scored in Madrid’s resounding victory over Villarreal.
