Real Madrid signed David Alaba from Bayern Munich on a free transfer in 2021. Since joining, Alaba has become a key player for the team. In his debut season at Real Madrid, he played 46 matches, helping the team win both La Liga and the Champions League. In his second season as well he featured in most matches, appearing in 39 games across all competitions.
However, in his third season, injuries began to severely impact the Austrian’s playing time. His number of appearances dropped significantly, as he appeared in only 17 matches.
Alaba’s recent injury woes could lead to his current form at Real Madrid
Alaba suffered from a cruciate ligament tear on Dec 18th, 2023 which kept him in the sidelines for a long period of 381 days. He returned from injury on Jan 1st, 2025 only to be sidelined again for 15 days due to an adductor injury.
The Austrian defender is finally fit and ready to play regularly, but it seems that Carlo Ancelotti has some concerns.
Ancelotti recently discussed Alaba's fitness in an interview, stating: “Alaba is doing very well. He’s played for Austria. Putting him in two games every three days can be a risk. Tomorrow he has more chances. Those who didn’t start against Leganes have more chances for tomorrow’s eleven.”
After a major injury like an ACL tear, every player needs some time to get back to their best, and for Alaba, it’s no different. Playing frequently in back-to-back games at this moment could risk further injury to Alaba, which the club will want to avoid at all costs, especially given the current shortage of defenders.
However, it did not help that Alaba's most recent appearance for Real Madrid was in a 4-4 draw with Real Sociedad, where he was the worst player on the pitch for Los Blancos.
Despite the recent setbacks due to injury, Alaba is expected to be much better than he showed on Tuesday night. Maybe he would get better over time, but Real Madrid would need him to return to form before the end of the season if they want to win all possible trophies.
The terrible injury is not the only reason for his poor form, of course - and his recent performance cannot be excused either way, but it certainly could be a factor. It certainly was for Eder Militao last season when he first returned, although he did not score two own goals.
Real Madrid are obviously looking for a defender in the summer transfer window, and if Alaba is not able to turn it around, we may be able to figure out the player who is going to be replaced first and foremost.