David Alaba is set to miss the second leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final with Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Alaba was forced off at the interval in the first leg last Tuesday, and he missed the newly champions’ 4-0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti looks set to start with Nacho Fernandez alongside Eder Militao in the heart of the defence against the Premier League champions.
The Italian coach has a key decision to make over whether to name Rodrygo Goes or Federico Valverde in his starting XI.
The timing of Alaba’s injury is particularly frustrating, as he is the outfielder who has played the second-highest number of minutes in Madrid’s season so far, only behind Eder Militao.
However, Los Blancos have learnt to cope without him, having won all five of the matches that he has missed so far this campaign.
These matches came against Celta Vigo, Athletic Club, Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol, as well as the Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Barcelona.
While Madrid go into Wednesday’s crucial second leg tie as LaLiga champions, City will also take on their Spanish counterpart on the back of a convincing win at Leeds.
The Cityzens outclassed Leeds United 3-0 at Elland Road to continue their push to retain the English league title.
