Real Madrid key defender pushing to return from injury before 2025 ends – report | OneFootball

Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal has had a difficult start to the season, with injuries and physical problems surfacing in recent weeks.

Having spent some time away on the sidelines, the right-back returned to action in October to face Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the seaosn.

However, as fate would have it, the veteran was sidelined again with a knee problem, which required him to undergo arthroscopic intervention.

Early indications were that he would not play again in 2025, with Carvajal himself acknowledging recently that he was targeting a return early next year.

Carvajal pushing for return before 2025 ends

Now, though, according to OK Diario, Carvajal is working intensely at Valdebebas to rejoin the group dynamic as soon as possible.

The Real Madrid right-back and the club’s medical staff do not rule out the possibility of him playing again before 2025 ends.

Carvajal targeting a return next month. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The captain has set himself a target: the La Liga match against Alaves on 14 December, or the subsequent game against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu which will be Real Madrid’s last one for the calendar year.

Carvajal is working every day with the aim of returning as soon as he can. The 33-year-old defender is following a demanding plan under the supervision of Real Madrid’s medical staff.

As per the report, his progress in recent weeks has been significant and the club believe he could shorten the recovery timeline. As such, the possibility of him returning before the year end is quite realistic.

What does seem certain, unless there is a setback, is that he will be at one hundred per cent for the match vs Real Betis, Real Madrid’s first game of 2026, and for the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

So far this season, Carvajal has played only eight games in all competitions. Given Trent Alexander-Arnold’s nervy start to life at Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso & co. will hope to have their captain back at the earliest possible.