Real Madrid could get a game-changing boost to their lackluster defense.
Real Madrid have fallen behind Barcelona in the LaLiga title race, because despite adding Kylian Mbappe to an already impressive attack that secured the double last season, the defensive decline has been more than enough to offset the additional attacking firepower.
Once again, Real Madrid have been devastated by injuries to their back line this season. And once again, top center back Eder Militao suffered a torn ACL. Joining him was none other than right back Dani Carvajal, who tore his ACL early in the 2024/25 season.
Both blows were huge, but since Raul Asencio has stepped up to be arguably just as brilliant as Militao was in central defense, it has been the absence of Carvajal that has loomed the largest for the Royal Whites.
Carvajal was so good last season that he was regarded as a legitimate Ballon d'Or candidate, winning LaLiga and the Champions League with Real Madrid and then the European Championship with Spain. In his absence, Lucas Vazquez has been forced to start at right back again, and the aging squad player's performances have been getting worse and worse.
Sorely missed, Carvajal could be making a shock return before the end of the 2024/25 season, much like Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao did in 2023/24 to help Real Madrid lift Champions League gold. Per a report from MARCA's Jose Felix Diaz, not only will Carvajal be in attendance on the bench to help lift Real's spirits against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, but he is also "fighting to return" before the end of the season.
Carvajal's had nagging injury woes in the past before changing his training and diet, so Real Madrid can't push the 33-year-old too much for an early return. At his age, recovering from an ACL tear is very difficult, and though Militao did so last season with aplomb, Marco Asensio and perhaps even David Alaba are two Real Madrid examples of how brutal this injury can be long-term.
But if he can pull it off, Carvajal could be the boost Real Madrid need to their back four in order to play at a much higher level and dominate the rest of the campaign. The Copa del Rey, Champions League, and LaLiga are all very much in play for the Royal Whites in 2025. Imagine the scenes if Carvajal plays a key role in winning the ever elusive treble.