Earlier this month, Dani Carvajal suffered a calf injury against Granada, and it was believed that the veteran will not be playing again in 2023.

But recent reports had suggested that the Spanish international’s recovery had gone much faster than initially anticipated, potentially paving the way for him to face Alaves later this week, in the team’s last game in 2023.

However, set to face off against Alaves this Thursday, Carvajal’s participation is beginning to look highly improbable as he has yet to make a full recovery.

According to The Athletic’s Guillermo Rai, Carvajal is discarded for the Alaves game.

Carvajal had been in scintillating form for Real Madrid this season prior to his injury. He has four goal contributions thus far and has proven to be a reliable asset defensively throughout the first half of the campaign.

But for now, he will be unavailable against Alaves and is expected to make a comeback against Mallorca on January 3.

Real Madrid’s entire starting defence is out of the Alaves clash due to injury-related concerns.

David Alaba and Eder Militao face considerable time out on the sidelines, with Alaba’s season coming to an end after he tore his ACL against Villarreal.

Meanwhile, Ferland Mendy and Carvajal are unavailable for the game either with the former being out for ten days.

Apart from the injuries in defence, the midfield and attacking departments face similar grievances.

But despite their ongoing injury problems this season, Carlo Ancelotti’s team has performed admirably, sitting second in La Liga and earning a spot in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with five straight victories.