David Alaba ready to return to training after a year

David Alaba can finally feel like a footballer again. The defender, who has been sidelined for over a year with an ACL injury, is expected to return to team training on Monday, as revealed by 'Marca' on Sunday. It was December 17 2023 - a year and thirteen days ago - when the former Bayern Munich star suffered a major blow to his knee. He was subbed off in the 35th minute of Real Madrid's 4-1 victory over Villarreal and has not seen the pitch since. 

Initial diagnoses ruled out the Austrian from Euro 2024 in the summer, however, the matter went well beyond the tournament as issues with joint cartilage - alongside his meniscus - forced the bones in his knee to rub together, causing him a lot of pain. Following a slow and complicated recovery process, which has taken a toll on the player's mental health, Alaba is ready to get going in training. 

That said, fans and teammates will have to wait a bit more before seeing Alaba back in action as it is understood that the club do not want to take any unnecessary risks with the centre-back due to the gravity of his injury. According to ‘Relevo’, Alaba can return to regular minutes sometime in March, although it is not ruled out that he could return earlier in the squad and get a few minutes.

Despite the injury crisis in defence - Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and Lucas Vazquez - Real Madrid will reportedly not turn their heads towards the transfer market for any signings. The Spaniards are happy to wait for the returns of their stars and believe that with Asencio and the option of Tchouameni, the matter is closed.