CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Real Madrid injury update for Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City: Courtois, Alaba…
With Eder Militão available, Carlo Ancelotti has almost a full-strength squad to choose from for the first leg against Pep Guardiola’s team.
Real Madrid have had a significant number of injury issues to contend with throughout the 2023/24 season, which has made their performances in LaLiga and the Champions League all the more impressive. However, for the first leg of the UCL quarter-final against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Carlo Ancelotti will have almost a full squad to choose from.
Eder Militão makes ACL return against Athletic Club: will he start against City?
Central defender Eder Militão tore his ACL in the very first league game of the season away to Athletic Club in August but coincidentally made his long-awaited return against the same team on 31 March, which was Los Blancos’ last match.
The Brazilian came on for the final minute of the fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu, although his lack of competitive action means he almost certainly won’t start against the Premier League holders, with either Nacho or midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni set to line up alongside Antonio Rüdiger at the back.
With Militão finally back in contention to play, only two players aren’t available for Madrid against City.
What injuries do Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba have? Will will they be back playing?
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had been slightly ahead of Militão in his own recovery from an ACL injury but ruptured his meniscus on 19 March, just as he was preparing to make his return. At the weekend, the Belgian revealed on Twitch he would be back in training before the end of April, which means he could yet feature again this season, particularly if Real Madrid reach the Champions League final on 1 June.
However, we won’t be seeing David Alaba again until next season. Like Courtois and Militão, the Austrian defender also tore his ACL but did so in December, which means he won’t have completed his recovery until some time in the summer.
The hope is that Alaba, who will also miss Euro 2024, will be ready to begin preseason ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. Los Merengues will travel to the United States to play friendlies against Milan (Chicago, 31 July), Barcelona (New Jersey, 3 August) and Chelsea (Charlotte, 6 August) as part of their preparations.
The game between Real Madrid and Manchester City will be played on Tuesday 9 April 2024 at 3 p.m. ET/ noon PT. You can follow the action live on AS USA ahead of kick-off.