399 days after his last appearance for Real Madrid, David Alaba made his comeback for the “Royals” in the 4-1 win against Las Palmas. The 32-year-old was visibly relieved after returning to the pitch, and double goalscorer Kylian Mbappé also gave the defender special praise.
A little more than 13 months after his cruciate ligament rupture, Austria’s team captain David Alaba celebrated his comeback on Sunday. The 32-year-old was substituted on for Antonio Rüdiger in the 76th minute to frenetic cheers from the crowd in Real Madrid’s 4-1 home league win over Las Palmas. The ÖFB star had torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee on December 17, 2023 in a Spanish LaLiga game against Villarreal.
“I’m very happy. It’s a special day for me. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment because the last year has been very hard and long,” said Alaba. It was very nice to come home again. ”I can’t even say how much I missed this feeling. I missed going out on the pitch, especially at home, helping my teammates and then celebrating with our fans. I thank the fans.” The supporters had already applauded loudly as they warmed up and chanted the Viennese, and this was also the case when he came on. After the final whistle, Alaba also thanked his teammates, the coaching staff and the medical staff for their support during a very difficult time.
Mbappé praises Alaba: “Happy he’s back”
For Real, Alaba can be seen as a winter signing. This at a time when the Madrilenians have personnel problems in defense anyway. “Incredible, I knew him as a rival, it was very difficult to play against him. I know it was difficult for him. He’s a great guy and a great player who will be important for us. We’re very happy to have him back,” double scorer Kylian Mbappé said of Alaba.
After his injury, he was still hoping to participate in the European Championship. However, the rehab turned out to be difficult and lengthy, and competing in the summer 2024 tournament remained illusory. Nevertheless, Alaba traveled to Germany as a “non-playing captain,” took part in coaching meetings in this role, and was close to the players. However, his injured knee only improved slowly. Neither Real nor Alaba wanted to set a date for his return at the time.
Speculation due to long injury break
On September 30, the Viennese returned to running training, and a month later, he was back on the ball. In between, there was wild speculation about an early end to the season and even the threat of the end of his career. However, Alaba was said to be making noticeable progress. Shortly after New Year’s Eve, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti finally announced that Alaba would return in January.
The competitive comeback came after a 399-day forced break. He had previously been in the squad for the two Super Cup matches at the beginning of January, but did not play. Ancelotti had promised his defensive leader a game before the clash with Las Palmas. The start of this game was not promising, as the guests took the lead after 26 seconds through Fabio Silva. Otherwise, they didn’t show much offensively. The “Royals” recovered quickly, played almost on one goal and scored another comfortable victory.
Alaba: “We played very well”
Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty after a foul on Rodrygo (18th minute) and scored via a direct shot into the corner (36th minute). These were his 11th and 12th league goals in his 18th game, after 29 competitive games the Frenchman now has 17 goals. Brahim Diaz (33′) and Rodrygo (57′) also got on the scoresheet. There were more goals in the air or fell, but three were disallowed after VAR review for offside. Alaba did not have to show his defensive qualities in his brief appearance, as the visitors, who have never won at Real, were too harmless from the 64th minute onwards while playing a man down.
“We played very well,” said Alaba. Ancelotti’s side (46 points) took the lead in the league from city rivals Atletico (44) with their third consecutive league win after the 20th round, who lost 1-0 at Leganes on Saturday. Third-placed FC Barcelona are already seven points behind. Alaba’s comeback came at the final whistle in a game against an Austrian team. Next Wednesday, Red Bull Salzburg will be guests at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the penultimate round of the Champions League league phase.
