May 03, (THEWILL) – David Alaba of Real Madrid will probably miss Tuesday’s crucial Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City.
After being forced off at half-time against Osasuna last month and missing the weekend victory over Espanyol, Alaba was already a serious worry for Wednesday’s match versus City.
The 29-year-old, who only managed to play the opening half of the first leg versus City at the Etihad Stadium, was expected to be back in contention this week.
Despite his best efforts in recent days at the training ground, Alaba has lost his battle against the clock to be fit and was not present for the final session with the rest of his teammates on Tuesday morning.
Nacho is anticipated to take the place of Alaba, after missing the match against Espanyol due to a one-game domestic suspension.
The 29-year-old, a four-time Champions League winner in the first squad, would most likely start alongside Eder Militao, with Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal on the flanks.
Real trail 4-3 on aggregate after the first leg, but they remain optimistic that they can overcome that gap at home and reach their 17th European Cup/Champions League final, extending their own record.
Los Blancos last appeared in the final in 2018, when they defeated Liverpool to win their third European title in a row. They also beat Liverpool in 1981 and have won seven more European titles since then.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
