Hard as it is to believe, the season is not quite over for a considerable amount of Europe’s finest talents, as they fulfil Nations League fixtures. The latest to feel the effects of four more matches after a long season is David Alaba.
The Real Madrid defender was substituted with an adductor problem against France, while on international duty with Austria on Friday night. After 68 minutes, Austria were 1-0 when Alaba was taken off. France ended up with a draw after a late Kylian Mbappe equaliser.
The extent of the injury is not yet known, as per Marca. The Austria side have one final fixture on Monday night against Denmark and until tests establish the degree of the injury, Alaba will not be ruled out.
Alaba played the Champions League final against Liverpool and aided Real Madrid to win their 14th Champions League in the final weekend of May, but that was his first game in nearly a month. After injuring himself against Osasuna, Alaba didn’t play again until the Champions League final with the same injury. It adds further weight to the idea that the top footballers in the game are struggling to deal with the number of fixtures they are being asked to play.
Too many games for players to deal with, no wonder.