Real Madrid's Victory Marred by Alaba's Season-Ending ACL Injury

 Real Madrid's Victory Marred by Alaba's Season-Ending ACL Injury

Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal with teammate Antonio Rudiger during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Madrid CF and Villarreal CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 17, 2023 in Madrid, Spain(Image-Getty)

Real Madrid won the match 4-1 with the great skill of 38-year-old Luka Modric. The win over Villarreal took Real to the top of the La Liga points table. But at the end of the day, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti is still uncomfortable. David Alaba has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury in this match.

Three Real Madrid players suffered ACL injuries within four months. The other two goalkeepers are Thibaut Courtois and Militao. The Real coach said that he had never seen three players from the same team get injured so quickly in his long career. Ancelotti also said that Real may have to look for a defender on an urgent basis in the January transfer due to an ACL injury.

Jude Bellingham, Rodrigo, Brahim Diaz and Modric scored four goals for Real in the Santiago Bernabeu match. In addition to scoring, Modric also assisted on one goal. The injured Alaba was taken off the field in the 35th minute. The Austrian centre-back injured his knee trying to get hold of the ball in a scrum.

Later, Real Madrid said in a statement, 'Our player David Alaba has been diagnosed with an ACL in his left knee after several tests. He will undergo surgery in the next few days. When the Real coach was asked about Alaba's condition after the match, he said, "I have not spoken to him. It is very sad. Because we lost one more player to injury. I've never seen three players go down with ACL injuries in four months. It's incredible. But there is nothing to do.

Prior to Alaba, Militao suffered an ACL injury in the league's first match against Athletic Bilbao on August 13. That has knocked the Brazilian center back out of action for at least nine months. Three days before Militao, Belgian goalkeeper Courtois also suffered an ACL injury. He also has to stay out of the field for a few months.

Real Madrid need new players to strengthen their defense for the rest of the season. Ancelotti also hinted that a defender could be urgently sought in the January transfer, "The only way is to replace the important players who are suffering from injuries." Let's see if something can be done in the coming days.

Aurelie Chuameni returned from injury in the match against Villarreal. Ancelotti is also thinking of playing this French defensive midfielder a little lower in defense for the time being, 'Chuameny is the best option in our hands now. He does not play in this place. But in an emergency, like the one we're in now, he can play. (Academy player) Marvel trained with us, but he is also injured now. Let's see if we can do something after Christmas.'

Real Madrid's next match is against Alaves on Thursday.