Dani Carvajal is back: after almost nine months of suffering, the man who will be Real Madrid’s first captain after the Club World Cup has been included in the squad for the first time and is available, according to Xabi Alonso. As we have been reporting for months on Grada3, the Carvajal plan has been fulfilled and the player is back to help his teammates.
Carvajal and his toughest challenge as a professional
Dani Carvajal has not been a player who has been particularly blessed by injuries during his sporting career. The Leganés native has suffered many muscle problems at key moments in his career. Without going any further, the last European Championship was his first major tournament with the Spanish national team, as he had previously missed important games due to injuries in the final stretch of the season. However, in recent years, when he decided to work with nutritionist Itziar González, who is currently Real Madrid’s nutritionist, those muscle injuries disappeared and the full-back showed impressive physical form, which led him to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or just before the injury that has caused him to miss almost the entire season.
It was at the beginning of October, in the final minutes of the match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu, when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn lateral collateral ligament, and a torn popliteal tendon in his right knee. From that moment on, the “Carvajal method” began, which we have been telling you about over the last few months in Grada3, based on a strict, personalized diet designed by nutritionists and physical recovery taken to the limit with a single goal in mind, which has been achieved today: to be with his team at the Club World Cup.
Dani Carvajal returns as he left
The Madrid-born footballer has not lost the ambition and sporting aggression that have always accompanied him and taken him to the top of the game. In the run-up to the match, he spoke to the media and, although he acknowledges that he is far from his best form, if he is given minutes, he will go out there and give it his all, without fear and with the determination he has always had.
“Nine months have passed and I’m ready to compete. I know myself and I know that if they put me on the field, I’m going to give it my all, without fear, at full throttle and putting my foot down from the first moment. What I am going to notice is the spark and the level of competition, because logically you suffer after so much time out.”
“I’ve been training for almost three weeks and I haven’t had any problems. It’s true that the grass is different from in Europe, and the heat and dryness have an influence, but I don’t have any problems.”
Carvajal also spoke about how the last nine months have been since he was injured and what it means mentally to suffer such a serious injury.
“Until you experience it, you don’t know the full extent of things. It’s true that it’s happened at a more mature stage in my career, with my family and my wife, and that’s been a great comfort, because otherwise I would have thought about it a lot more.
“If you had asked me a month and a half ago, I wouldn’t have seen myself here, but today I feel ready to compete. I’m not afraid to train hard and give it my all.”
Competition with Alexander-Arnold
Dani Carvajal will have more competition than ever at a time of uncertainty in his career. However, as is usual for the Leganés native, he sees the arrival of Alexander-Arnold as something positive for the team and a new challenge for himself.
“On a professional level, it’s logical: in every team and in every position, there are new people coming in. I see it as a personal challenge that I love to compete in, to have important challenges ahead of me, and hopefully thatcompetition, healthy competition, I repeat, will make the team much better.“
”Trent has adapted phenomenally, he’s been fantastic with everyone. I was very confident with Jude, but he’s super nice with everyone. When we’ve had a free afternoon, he’s come out for a walk, for dinner, and he’s a really great guy.”