As in the past few seasons, Real Madrid have been bitten by the injury bug again, with a number of key players going down with serious long-term injuries, dramatically affecting the team's form. One of the most missed players is defender Eder Militao, fans have been on the edge of their seats waiting for an update on the Brazilian, and unfortunetaly, it's not the update fans have been waiting for.
COPE (via The Madrid Zone on X) reports that Militao will not be recovered in time for the Champions League round of 16 clash with Manchester City, as he isn't expected to be back until after the international break in March.
Eder Militao injury update is a real concern for Real Madrid
The 28-year-old has been sidelined since December 7th after suffering a serious hamstring injury during Real's 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo and his absence has had a major impact on the quality of the backline. It had been reported that the Brazilian had been making good progress in his recovery, and many at the club were thinking he may be back sooner that originally expected, but it won't be soon enough for the crucial Champions League round of 16 tie.
Prior to his untimely injury Militao was far and away the best defender in the squad, putting in consistent man of the match level performances, reclaiming his place as one of the top defenders in the world after an injury plagued last couple of seasons. The defender even grabbed La Liga's September Goal of the Month with an incredible golazo against Espanyol.
The Brazilian started training with the ball again last week, giving many optimism that he would be back closer to mid March rather than the initially expected early April, but even then, he won't be ready for the upcoming Champions League clashes with Manchester City with the first game coming on March 11th.
Given Militao's recent injury history, suffering ACL tears in back to back seasons, it would be in the clubs best interest to not rush the Brazilian back and let him recover fully to 100% fitness to avoid the possibility of another setback.
With all the injuries in the backline to Militao, Dean Huijsen and Raul Asencio, who exactly Alvaro Arbeloa will choose as his center-back duo against Manchester City remains up in the air at the moment, we may end up seeing a rare starting appearance for David Alaba when the first leg roles around in a few weeks time.