Alaba gets standing ovation on return after 399 days

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David Alaba made his return to action after 399 days on the sidelines. The Austrian defender ruptured his ACL in a league match against Villareal on December 17 2023 but made his long-awaited comeback as Real Madrid hosted Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga.

Alaba travelled with the Real Madrid squad for the Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund and the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, but did not feature in either as Ancelotti saw such demanding games as not suitable for the player to make his return. 

However, he was not going to be under any particular pressure when he was brought against Las Palmas as 'Los Blancos' were up by 4-1 and had the win already in the bag. Alaba was greeted with a standing ovation from the Madrid fans as he replaced Antonio Rudiger in the 76th minute of the match.

His return to the ‘Merengue’ squad comes at a crucial point of the season for Madrid, who are fighting for qualification into the Champions League play-offs and have the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey coming up.

 

January 19, 2025