Real Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti has opened up after the defender tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) against Villarreal on Sunday.
Alaba twisted his knee in the first half and the 34-year-old will be out for eight months approximately. He is expected to miss EURO 2024 with Austria which is scheduled to be played in June 2024 in Germany.
"David Alaba's replacement? We are talking with the club and we will evaluate it in the next days. We have time to make a decision. The market will end on January 31,” Ancelotti said during a press conference before the match against Alaves tomorrow in La Liga.
This was the third time a Real Madrid player suffered an ACL injury after key players Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao were ruled for eight months due to an ACL tear earlier this season.
"This [ACL] is an unexpected injury, you can't imagine it... Courtois, Alaba and Militao had never had problems with their knees while we have other players who have discomforts in their knees and nothing happen. It's unexpected,” the Italian said.
Los Blancos are now left with only two natural center-backs in the squad, Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez, and the club understands that they need to sign a defender in the January transfer window.
"If I would like to sign a new CB? I'm not going to tell you. We will decide with the club,” Ancelotti added.
Speaking about the match against Alaves, Ancelotti said that "we want to play a good game tomorrow and get the 3 points”.
The Madrid boss also shed light on the goalkeeper situation at the club.
"Both Lunin and Kepa are good. Kepa plays tomorrow but then I will decide the starting goalkeeper for the remaining games of the season," he concluded.