Real Madrid are set to be without another defender for the first Clásico of the season after David Alaba suffered a calf injury at the weekend.
Alarm bells sounded when the 33-year-old was replaced with Raúl Asencio at halftime in Real Madrid’s 1–0 victory over Getafe. Xabi Alonso downplayed any major concerns with Alaba, revealing in this post game press conference that the Austrian’s calf was just “getting stiff.”
Yet after training indoors separately from the team and missing out against Juventus, Alaba’s injury woes are seemingly back at a rather inopportune time for Los Blancos. The Athletic report the defender’s calf issue will keep him sidelined for at least a week, ruling him out against Barcelona.
Alaba has struggled with fitness ever since he suffered an ACL injury in Dec. 2023. It took the center back 13 months to recover and then he went on to sustain multiple problems that kept him in and out of the infirmary last season.
He also missed the entirety of this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup with a knee injury before returning to action in 2025–26. Alaba’s minutes were slowly increasing over recent weeks, but now he is once again relegated to the sidelines ahead of the biggest match in Spanish football.
Real Madrid Battling Another Defensive Injury Crisis for El Clásico
Alonso now has just two healthy first-team center backs in Éder Militão and Asencio with just four days until Real Madrid host arch rivals Barcelona. Alaba joins Antonio Rüdiger and Dean Huijsen on the sidelines.
The latter, who withdrew from international duty due to a muscle injury, is in a race to be back available for El Clásico. Yet even if Huijsen passes his final fitness test, he still might not be a favored option to start in the heated rivalry after not playing for over three weeks.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal are also working to be fit by Sunday’s clash. The two fullbacks returned to training and are taking things “day by day,” according to Alonso.
Much like Huijsen, though, throwing either player into the XI against Barcelona after so much time on the sidelines comes at a risk.
Alonso’s final backline come Sunday could all come down to how well his players progress over the remainder of the week. If there are any setbacks, the Spanish boss might very well have to improvise in the biggest match of his tenure at Real Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fresh Injury Blow Gives Xabi Alonso Defensive Headache for El Clasico.