"Will all be back after the holidays" - Carlo Ancelotti provides positive injury update on 3 Real Madrid stars after 4-1 Villareal win 

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is confident that injured trio Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga, and Arda Guler will return after the Christmas break.

Los Blancos are nursing quite a few casualties right now, with David Alaba joining them in the treatment room last night after rupturing his ACL. The Austrian went down in the 35th minute and was replaced by Nacho Fernandez as Alaba faces a few weeks out.

After the match, which Real Madrid comfortably won 4-1 at home, Ancelotti spoke to the press about the condition of some of the other players. Ancelotti sounded confident that all three of them would return after the mid-season break.

He said (via Managing Madrid):

“Vinícius, Camavinga and Arda Güler will all be back after the holidays.”

Prolific attacker Vinicius injured his thigh last month, whereas Camavinga and Guler also had fitness issues, causing them to be sidelined.

With three players nursing an ACL injury right now, Ancelotti admitted that he's never experienced a challenge like this.

"This is the first time it has happened to me; three of my players tearing their ACLs," he added.

Real Madrid play away to Alaves in La Liga this weekend before taking a few days off. On 3 January 2024, their season resumes as normal, but with two games per week.

As Girona are closely competing for the title race right now, Los Blancos need to be at their best going into the second half of the campaign and will hope to have their key players back sooner rather than later.

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Will Real Madrid make January signings?

With a handful of key players currently out injured, Real Madrid could look to make a few January signings to reinforce their squad. The defense would be a point of concern with David Alaba and Dani Carvajal both currently out.

Carlo Ancelotti didn't give a definitive answer when questioned about the possibility of roping in new players but one can expect them to get linked with a few defenders, especially a center-back.

Real Madrid have a challenging schedule to start 2024 with, as La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercup fixtures all come up one after the other. They must have a fit and firing squad to keep their title hopes alive amid such a brutal run.