Alaba is celebrating a comeback in the ÖFB team: Will he rock the Nations League?

Alaba is celebrating a comeback in the ÖFB team: Will he rock the Nations League?

David Alaba, the captain of the Austrian national team, is poised for an impressive comeback after a long injury layoff. The 32-year-old Real Madrid player has fought back from a complicated knee injury that kept him out of action for 13 months and completed his first training session with the national team in 16 months in bright sunshine in Vienna on Tuesday. “I feel very good,” explained Alaba, who had already played 90 minutes in the last game against Rayo Vallecano. “I am well on the way to being back in top condition very soon,” reported sn.at.

ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick praised Alaba's return and during the press conference he emphasized the special importance of his comeback: "Not many players would do that," said Rangnick and underlined Alaba's incredible commitment, even during his rehabilitation phase at the European Championships. Alaba is expected to be in the starting line-up against Serbia and is ready to play on both March 19 and 23, although Rangnick noted that it is "not very likely" that Alaba will be able to play over 90 minutes in both games, as is krone.at reported.

Injury risks and positioning

The line-up for tomorrow's Nations League home game against Serbia could be affected by the injury-related absences of Kevin Danso and Stefan Posch. In the best case scenario, Alaba, Phillipp Mwene and Philipp Lienhart form the back four. If Alexander Prass is unable to play due to ankle problems, Stefan Lainer could also play. In the defensive midfield, a central position is vacant due to Konrad Laimer's yellow card suspension, so Rangnick could potentially pull more attacking players like Christoph Baumgartner or Patrick Wimmer back into the defensive to ensure the necessary stability.