Alonso chooses injured Real Madrid star’s replacement for upcoming games – report | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold simply cannot catch a break this season, and his start to life at Real Madrid has been anything but memorable so far.

After a rough start to life at the club and the adaptation struggle that followed his arrival, the player faced a lengthy injury that kept him out of action 

He only returned against Liverpool at Anfield last month and was slowly phased in. In just his third game back as a starter, however, he faced yet another injury last night and is expected to be out for at least two months.

The temporary fix

Unfortunately for Real Madrid, Dani Carvajal is also still far from his return to the field and the manager thus faces a strangely similar situation to what he faced a few months ago – one where he is without both his natural right-backs.

As relayed by COPE (h/t Madrid Xtra) in a recent update, he is set to turn to the same solution that helped him the last time around – trusting Federico Valverde at right-back.

Valverde to move to right-back again. (Photo by Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)

The Uruguayan midfielder featured as a right-back for Real Madrid for several games between September and October and did a great job at filling in that department.

He was reliable defensively and his incessant work rate helped the team’s overall structure as well, even though the player had initially been reluctant to play in the position.

What will hurt Alonso, however, is the fact that he is forced to make such steep accommodations just after he seemingly found his best combination on the field.

After all, the game against Athletic Club saw Real Madrid play some of their best football with Trent and Valverde both looking rejuvenated. Having one injured and another return to a makeshift role, needless to say, will hurt the team.

So far this season, Valverde has started 13 of his 15 La Liga appearances and has four assists to show in that duration. He averages 1.2 key passes and 1.4 shots per game.