Ancelloti Downplays Alaba’s Injury Ahead of Trip to Girona

Real Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti has played down the concerns over David Alaba’s injury as just “a bit of discomfort” that shouldn’t impede him from playing the club’s next game on Saturday.

Ancelloti gave the assurance during his press round ahead of the La Liga fixure against Girona on Saturday, where he also ascertained that his players have “every chance of winning the game,” provided they “find a balance, defend well and show their quality on the ball.”

His words: “We’re in good shape, we’re playing a crucial match against the league leaders. We will try to perform at our best and we’re coming into it with morale high. We’ll have Rüdiger back, it wasn’t anything serious. The team is slightly fatigued but motivation is high and we’re going to put on a good display.

“We must make sure it’s a complete performance in the sense the team has to be balanced, defend well and show the quality we have with the ball in order to hurt them. We’re well aware of how well Girona are playing right now. Last time we went there was not a good night and we won’t have a repeat of that tomorrow. Girona are playing very well but we have every chance of winning the game.”

On Vinicius who’s slowly been integrated into the team after time on the sidelines, the Italian Manager added: “He’s fine and he will play from the start. We’ll see how long he lasts. He could do the full 90, but it depends on what we ask of him. I think he’s feeling great, he’s fully recovered and he’ll give us a lot. The other day I told him to be careful because we didn’t want to risk it. He wanted to play, he was sprinting flat out and I told him to look after himself.”

Ancelloti equally allayed all worries of Alaba undergoing a lengthy spell on the sides, saying “He underwent some tests but it’s nothing serious, just a bit of discomfort. We’ll try and get him back for Tuesday.”

Come Saturday, it’ll be a dicey encounter between Real and Girona, given the latter’s current form of seven league games unbeaten so far.

Currently topping the log in the Spanish La Liga, can Girona further cement their position when wounded Carlo Ancelotti’s men come knocking?