David Alaba was one of the several Real Madrid players who had to miss a significant part of the 2023-24 season with a long-term injury. The Austrian defender tore his anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee in December 2023 and has been undergoing a recovery process since then to get back to his full fitness levels.
This injury kept him from participating in the UEFA EURO 2024 for his Austrian national side, but he was still with his national team squad, supporting his teammates and assisting his manager with the management of the team.
Thus, the defender is still highly involved in his teams, but he might still need a significant period of time to return to action on the pitch. This is clear from a report from Mundo Deportivo, which cites some Austrian journals to claims that Alaba might not be able to return to the pitch till 2025.
One of the newspapers cited in this report explained that the Real Madrid defender was seen climbing some stairs with a significant degree of difficulty, showing that his recovery is going slower than expected.
However, this slow recovery might still be in line with the expectations of the defender himself and Real Madrid. During his stay in Germany with the national team, the defender has clearly stated that “I don’t pressure myself or set a specific date”. For his part, Alaba is regularly visiting the Austrian doctor who operated on his knee, Christian Fink, with the approval of Real Madrid.
Similarly, the Merengues also understand that Alaba’s injury was more complicated than that of Thibaut Courtois or Eder Militao, and thus are not concerned with his slower recovery pace. Still, they will be keen to have him back in full fitness as soon as possible, especially with the departure of Nacho and the almost completed sale of Rafa Marin to Napoli.
