Forgotten star the reason Real Madrid won’t be signing any new defenders in January

The impending return of a Champions League winner reinforces the club's decision not to enter the winter transfer market for defensive reinforcements.

“He is getting more confident and doing more in training,” said a trusted locker room source. However, no one within the team dares to give an exact date for his return. The comeback of David Alaba (32) remains uncertain, but there is hope that he will be available in early January. This would significantly change the club's prospects for the winter transfer window. Now that Alaba is fit, the urgency to sign a centre-back mid-season would diminish, with the Austrian joining Antonio Rüdiger and the possibility of Aurélien Tchouameni playing in defense along with youngster Raúl Asencio.

How long has David Alaba been out?

This is good news for both Alaba and Carlo Ancelotti. The club is increasingly sharing images of the defender's training at higher intensity. Earlier this month he started working with the ball again, almost eleven months after his injury. He is approaching a year of recovery.

Alaba tore his cruciate ligament in his left knee on December 17 last year during a match against Villarreal. His recovery was longer and more challenging than that of his teammates Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militão, who were also injured last season and returned to play after eight months, although the Brazilian defender recently re-injured his other knee.

Explaining Alaba's long absence

What makes Alaba's case unique is the cartilage damage and resulting pain as he intensifies his training at Valdebebas. Raphaël Varane had a similar problem and recently retired from football at the age of 31. Alaba travels to Innsbruck in Austria every two weeks to see Christian Fink, Bayern Munich's trusted doctor who operated on his cruciate ligament in December 2023, to monitor his recovery. This recovery has had setbacks, including minor surgery and arthroscopy to clean the area and aid the healing process.

Real Madrid prefer to be cautious about Alaba's exact return date as it has been postponed twice (initially expected in October and then in November), but there is now light at the end of the tunnel for early 2025. His return will be a big boost for a line of defense seriously weakened by injuries.

Alaba will turn 33 next June, just before he enters the final year of his contract. Madrid will assess his condition in the second half of the season to make a decision on his future. Given his age, any contract extensions will likely be on a year-to-year basis.