Real Madrid injury update: when will Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militão and David Alaba be back playing?

Real Madrid will once again be without the services of long-term injury victims Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militão and David Alaba when they face Getafe in LaLiga on Thursday and Atlético Madrid on Sunday, but there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel for two of Carlo Ancelotti’s key figures at the back end of the team.

Los Blancos are, of course, keeping an incredibly close eye on how their defensive trio are progressing with their recoveries from ACL tears, with special focus on Courtois and Militão. The Belgian goalkeeper, who suffered the injury on 10 August and was operated on the week after, posted some photos and a video on social media which showed him doing ball work in training last week, suggesting he could return to action before too much longer.

Madrid duo back training after ACL tears

Before Saturday’s victory away to Las Palmas, Ancelotti revealed he had been monitoring both Courtois and Militão, who tore his ACL two days after his teammate, especially closely and hinted at when they could return, while also expressing his disbelief that three players on his roster could suffer the same long-term injury at almost the same time.

When asked about Militão, who has been spotted doing some training at the Real Madrid City training complex in Valdebebas, the Italian believes he will be able to give a more definitive response in a couple of weeks’ time.

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Courtois and Militão approaching returns, Alaba’s season over

“Mid-February will be six months since the injury. From then on, we’ll see how they (Courtois and Militão) feel on the training field. With this type of injury, you normally think they can be back after seven or eight months.” If Ancelotti’s prediction is correct, the Belgian and Brazilian could return between mid-March and mid-April, just in time for the business end of the season.

Alaba’s case, however, is entirely different. The Austrian had surgery on his anterior crucial ligament tear on 19 December, which means 2023-24 is over for him. His goal is to be ready for the start of pre-season in July.