Real Madrid veteran getting closer and closer to his pre-injury fitness levels | OneFootball

Eder Militao’s ACL injury this season just weeks after recovering from the same setback in his other leg sent the warning bells ringing in Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti and co. did not do much wrong in terms of phasing out his recovery and waited until he was 100% ready before incorporating him back into the dynamics.

However, they did learn a lot from it as to how players must slowly be brought into plans and have been using that plan in David Alaba’s path back to full prominence.

Slowly getting back in shape

As relayed in a recent report by AS, the Merengues’ strategy with Alaba is working well and the player is progressing positively towards complete match fitness.

He has been in Ancelotti’s plans since January 2025, but his minutes have been tightly regulated. Now, however, he is slowly returning to shape and regaining his fitness.

Making steady progress. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

He is now closer than ever before to being at the level of what he was before his injury. Needless to say, this comes as a massive boost for his recovery and spirits.

Moreover, it also provides Ancelotti with more reason to back the Austrian star regularly and even trust him as a starter.

The veteran is in line to replace Rudiger in the starting lineup for Los Blancos’ game against Real Sociedad later today and a lot rides on his defensive quality and ability to form a sound partnership with Raul Asencio.

So far this season, Alaba has made just five league appearances in La Liga and has started on three occasions.

Further, he averages close to 2.5 defensive actions per game which is impressive considering how few minutes he has played this season. His being at 100%, thus, will provide the manager with a world of freedom in his system.