一级[西·战·时]Real Madrid sign David Alaba
The Santiago Bernabeu froze, but it had nothing to do with December temperatures as the stadium’s new roof was closed for just the second time since redevelopment works began.
It had nothing to do with the scoreline, either — the home side were looking comfortable, leading Villarreal1-0. Instead, everyone’s focus had fallen on what looked to be yet another serious injury.
Sunday night’s La Ligameeting was Real Madrid’s final home match before the Christmas break, but David Alabacould not have had a worse farewell. He became the third Madrid player to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury this season after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtoisand fellow centre-back Eder Militao. Alaba, 31, will be out for around eight months, meaning the Austrian will miss Euro 2024 as well.
Alaba suffered his injury as he was pressing Gerard Moreno— with the Villarreal striker protecting possession, Alaba tried to wrestle away the ball but twisted his knee awkwardly in the process. He fell to the turf, urgently gesturing for treatment, and an immediate silence fell in the stands.
When Felipe Segura, head of Real Madrid’s medical services since Niko Mihic was sacked from that position in November, and physiotherapist Jaime Salom appeared, Madrid’s players had already gathered around their team-mate. Luka Modric’s grimace gave a first diagnosis: things were not looking good. People on the bench were worried, too, as assistant coach Francesco Mauri gave instructions to Nacho, preparing the club’s official captain to come on.
Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vazquezand Modric kissed Alaba as he was helped towards the dressing room by the two medical specialists, hobbling on one leg with his arms around their shoulders. There was another particularly warm approach from Antonio Rudigerand the Santiago Bernabeu chanted Alaba’s name in a further sign of affection.
When half-time arrived, Madrid were 2-0 up, but there was another scare during the break. Fran Garciawas out warming up — something unexpected.
Club sources in the dressing room, speaking anonymously as they did not have permission to comment, answered queries from The Athleticwith two worrying answers. Alaba’s left knee problem looked “very bad”, they said, and he would have further tests that night or the next day. They also said that left-back Ferland Mendywas struggling with discomfort in his right leg.
The match ended 4-1 to Madrid. The fans enjoyed the victory, Bellingham’s 17th goal of the season, the sight of Aurelien Tchouameni’s return from an injury suffered in late October, and the team’s good style, but Alaba was far from forgotten.
Brahim Diaz, who himself scored a great goal, made a point of sending a “message of encouragement” to him at the start of a post-match interview on Real Madrid TV. Just minutes after the final whistle, as if it was the first thing he did when back in the dressing room, Kroos tweeted an “I love you” message with three hearts. More players posted similar throughout the evening. Rodrygospoke to the media in the mixed zone and was obviously concerned by what happened. “It was tough,” he said. “We asked him on the pitch and he said: ‘My knee!’ At half-time, he was very sad.”
One minute before Carlo Ancelotti appeared for his post-match press conference, Real Madrid confirmed that Alaba’s injury was severe, with a medical report that revealed “a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee” and that he “will undergo surgery in the coming days”.
“It’s a shame, we are very sad,” Ancelotti said. “Another player has gone down. It’s unbelievable. I’ve never had three of my players get cruciate injuries within three months.
“What the team has to do is exactly what it has been doing so far, with all the injuries we’ve had. We’ve done more than what anyone believed we were capable of. Despite the problems, this team fights, digs in, plays some great football and shows extraordinary commitment. That’s the only way to fill in for all the guys who are out injured. We’ll see what can be done in the coming days.”
The Italian also said that Mendy, who will undergo tests on Monday after being replaced by Garcia at half-time, “preferred to stop because he was feeling overloaded”. And that Dani Carvajal, who in early December suffered a calf injury that was expected to keep him out for between three and four weeks, “could play against Alaves (on Thursday). He will train on Tuesday with the team but we won’t risk it”.
Both Carvajal and Mendy’s injury records suggest caution will be preferred. If they do indeed miss the trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz, it would leave Madrid without their entire first-choice back-line, combined with the absence of Militao, Courtois, whose name was chanted by fans again on Sunday, and now Alaba.
So far, this terrible run of bad luck has not adversely affected things on the pitch. In their 17 La Liga matches, Madrid have conceded 11 goals in 17 games, their lowest tally at this stage of a season since 1971-1972 (also 11).
Ancelotti preferred to be cautious when talking of any possible replacement before the winter transfer window, but club sources, who wished to speak anonymously to protect their position, have told The Athleticthe intention is to sign a centre-back in January.
But Sunday night and the reactions of those around him showed just how much Alaba will be missed.
https://theathletic.com/5144731/2023/12/18/real-madrid-david-alaba-injury-la-liga-villlarreal/
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