Ancelotti shocked because 3 Real players have torn ligaments

Spain After the 4-1 win over Villarreal in round 17 of La Liga, coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that he did not expect to lose three players due to ligament rupture since the beginning of the season: David Alaba, Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.

In the 35th minute of the match at Bernabeu on December 17, Alaba fought for the ball in the middle of the field and then fell to his knees. The Austrian defender received care from medical staff, before having to make way for Nacho Fernandez. Afterwards, Real's homepage announced that Alaba had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and would undergo surgery in the coming days.

This is Real's third ligament injury this season. Before the season started in August 2023, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training session. A few days later, centre-back Eder Militao suffered a similar injury in the opening La Liga match, a 2-0 win over Bilbao. Alaba, Courtois and Militao are likely to miss the rest of the 2023-2024 season.

Coach Ancelotti directs Real players during the Villarreal match in round 17 of La Liga at Bernabeu stadium on the evening of December 17. Photo: Reuters — Coach Ancelotti directs Real players during the Villarreal match in round 17 of La Liga at Bernabeu stadium on the evening of December 17. Photo: *Reuters*

"I haven't spoken to Alaba yet, but the medical report says he has a torn anterior cruciate ligament," Ancelotti said in a press conference after the win over Villarreal. "It's the first time this has happened to me, with three players in three months having torn ligaments. We did more than people expected. Despite the problems, the team fought, worked hard, played great football and showed incredible commitment. That's the only way we could replace all the important players who were injured."

With both Militao and Alaba out for the long term, Real are down to just Antonio Rudiger and Nacho at centre-back. Ancelotti admitted the club needed to strengthen in this position when the winter transfer window opened, and sees Aurelien Tchouameni as a stopgap solution. Tchouameni was dropped to partner Rudiger in the centre-back position in the 4-0 win over Osasuna in early October. Ancelotti also wanted to give a chance to 20-year-old youth team player Marvelous Antolin, known as Marvel, but he is also injured.

Real's "injured" list also includes Dani Carvajal, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, Vinicius and most recently Ferland Mendy - the player who made way for Francisco Garcia in the second half of the win over Villarreal. Ancelotti revealed that Mendy had a muscle pain and did not want to take any risks, Carvajal will return to training from tomorrow, December 19, while Vinícius, Camavinga and Guler could return in early 2024.

At the Bernabeu yesterday, Real dominated and scored four goals in each half, respectively through Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric. The 4-1 victory helped the royal team return to the top of La Liga with 42 points, one point ahead of Girona - the club that will play Alaves today - and seven points ahead of Barca.

Ancelotti's team has one more away match against Alaves in round 18 of La Liga on December 20 before entering the winter break. Real will return to host Mallorca on January 3, 2024.

Hong Duy

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