Trent Alexander-Arnold set for spell on sidelines with thigh injury sustained in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Athletic Club
By Tom Masters
Published 04/12/2025 at 17:26 GMT
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Trent Alexander-Arnold is set for another spell on the sidelines after injuring his thigh in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Athletic Club in La Liga. Madrid won 3-0 in Bilbao to end their streak of domestic draws, and Alexander-Arnold registered his first league goal involvement for Los Blancos with an assist for Kylian Mbappe, before he went down injured after 55 minutes and was helped off the field.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold is set for another spell on the sidelines after injuring his thigh in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Athletic Club.
Alexander-Arnold went down after 10 second-half minutes and required medical assistance when leaving the pitch, as Madrid cut short their streak of three consecutive draws to keep the pressure on Barcelona.
The right-back joined the Spanish giants from Liverpool at the end of his contract in the summer to great fanfare, but he has made just 16 appearances in all competitions due to several injuries.
He missed six matches when going down with a hamstring injury just five minutes into Madrid’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League win over Marseille, marking his return to action with nine minutes off the bench in the 1-0 loss at Anfield almost two months later.
The 27-year-old registered his first league goal involvement for Los Blancos, assisting Kylian Mbappe in the seventh minute at the Estadio San Mames, but with the score at 2-0, he was forced off the pitch.
The news of his injury lay-off could have hardly come at a worse time for manager Xabi Alonso, with experienced Spanish right back Dani Carvajal also sidelined during the busiest period of the season.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold had to be assisted off the pitch with a thigh injury.
Image credit: Getty Images
Real host Celta Vigo on Sunday, before a massive Champions League clash with Manchester City at the Bernabeu and an away visit to Deportivo Alaves the following Sunday.
With both Carvajal and Alexander-Arnold out, it is likely adaptable Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde will fill in, with Arda Guler likely to take up the starting berth alongside Jude Bellingham in Alonso’s altered formation.
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In a statement released on Thursday, the Spanish club announced: "Following tests carried out today by the Real Madrid medical services on our player, Trent Alexander-Arnold, he has been diagnosed with a muscular injury to the rectus anterior quadriceps in his left leg. His progress will be monitored."
Whilst the injury to Alexander-Arnold obviously brought bad news for Alonso, he will have been delighted with the way his side responded to a blip in form which saw them relinquish their hold at the top of La Liga and fall behind bitter rivals Barcelona.
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Alonso: Mbappe 'having a really good time' at Madrid after brace at Athletic Club
Video credit: SNTV
He will also have been pleased his tactical tweak worked, with Mbappe and Vinicius Junior lining up as strikers together in a 4-2-2-2 formation that resembled the one that brought so much success to the Spanish capital two seasons ago.
Mbappe scored his 15th and 16th La Liga goals of the season, to go with his nine in the Champions League, taking his tally for the campaign to 25 in 20 matches.
That puts him within sight of the calendar year record set by Cristiano Ronaldo at Los Blancos, and with five matches to play, you would not bet against the France captain achieving it.
Ronaldo scored 59 goals for Real Madrid in 2013. Mbappe’s brace took him to 55, meaning if he sticks to his strike rate for the season, he will overtake Ronaldo’s record.
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