Real Madrid expect defender to return ahead of schedule for Club World Cup | OneFootball

Real Madrid are hoping to salvage their season by winning the Club World Cup, and their chances of doing so appear to have been boosted in recent days.

Xabi Alonso’s first matches in charge will be during this summer’s tournament in the United States, at which point it will be seen what tactic he has in store for Real Madrid. At this stage, the expectation is that he will replicate the 3-4-3 system that he used at Bayer Leverkusen, although he could be short on central defenders for this.

At this stage, he only has Aurelien Tchouameni and Raul Asencio. Eder Militao is expected to miss out, while there are doubts about David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger being able to make the trip stateside. But in the case of the latter, there is now optimism.

Real Madrid to count on Antonio Rudiger for Club World Cup

Image via Europa Press

As reported by Diario AS, Rudiger is expected to return in time for Real Madrid’s second Club World Cup group stage match, which is against Pachuca on the 22nd of June. The Germany international underwent surgery on his knee at the end of April, but while there were doubts about him being available for the United States trip, he is expected to answer them.

Rudiger has had a tough 2024-25 season up until now, having played through the pain barrier for a long time. His knee problem had got progressively worse, which is why the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery after Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final defeat to Barcelona – a match that he was sent off in, and he was given a six-match suspension on the back of this.

It will be interesting to see how much Rudiger is used during the Club World Cup. Real Madrid and Alonso will be keen to not overplay him immediately due to the possibility of a flare-up, which would be a disaster.