Real Madrid veteran speaks about his injury and recovery – ‘I needed this time off’ | OneFootball

Antonio Rudiger’s prominence at Real Madrid has taken a steep fall this season – one not many saw coming given how central a role he played under Carlo Ancelotti.

One of the reasons for the player’s fall from his place as a starter was the arrival of Dean Huijsen which saw the manager increasingly prefer the Huijsen-Eder Militao combination for their relatively young legs.

Rudiger’s injury only compounded his struggles and has placed him on the sidelines for close to two months now. Currently, however, he is close to a return.

Wants to comeback soon

Speaking on The Icon League via MARCA in a recent interview, the veteran defender opened up on his recovery from injury and how it was going presently.

“My injury? I’m already itching to return. I needed this time off because the pre-season after the Club World Cup was very short.”

After providing that positive update, he spoke on how Real Madrid are lucky not to be neck deep in an injury crisis, especially given the hectic schedule.

“I’m looking forward to coming back and I’m happy that things are going well for us and that we don’t have that many injuries, thank God.”

He also gave his honest verdict on how hectic last season was on the dressing room.

Antonio Rudiger us eager to return. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)

“It was crazy, but I would do it again if necessary. I was in pain, but that’s how I am.”

“I always want to help and I could still sprint. That’s why I said, ‘Why not?’ I would do it again,” he added.

Rudiger also opened up on his special relationship with Arda Guler and the youngster’s rise to prominence under Xabi Alonso.

“Arda is my little bro. He went through difficult times at the start. It was only a matter of adapting,” he began.

“I always told him: ‘Your time will come sooner than you think’,” he added.

When asked about Guler’s talent and potential, the German defender refused to say anything and pointed out that his on-field performances spoke enough.

“He’s very professional, and we don’t need to talk about his talent, you can see it now,” he noted.