Real Madrid seriously considering January move due to David Alaba recovery | OneFootball

Real Madrid defender David Alaba suffered a setback in April of this year following a serious knee injury, undergoing a second operation on his meniscus. It had been hoped that around November he would be closing in on a return though, and there is little sign of that happening with around two weeks to go.

Alaba, 32, has not made much progress in the last two months, according to Cadena SER, when he returned to running. The Austrian defender struggles to up the intensity of his training, and has been in a lot of pain when he has tried to join the group. At the moment, he has not been able to go more than two consecutive days at a higher level of intensity, and with his cartilage in his knee reduced permanently, there is no guarantees on when or how he will come back to action.

As such, Real Madrid are evaluating their options in the January transfer market. They had intended for Alaba to be their third-choice central defender for at least half of the season, and with that plan endangered, they may make a rare move in the winter window to replace him.

It has been confirmed to Football España that Real Madrid will move for a central defender in the coming months, but are yet to make the call on whether that is one or two defenders, and whether one of them should come in January. So far the likes of Jonathan Tah, Yarek Gasiorowski and Vitor Reis have been most closely linked with Los Blancos.