Emotional Trent Alexander-Arnold Breaks Silence on Devastating New Injury

Real Madrid’s summer recruit provided a rough timeline for his recovery.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is out for the foreseeable future. / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Trent Alexander-Arnold described himself as “absolutely gutted” to have suffered a fresh injury problem that will force him to miss at least the rest of 2025 while he recovers.

Not long back from a hamstring problem that forced him to sit out seven games—plus two others unused on the bench—Alexander-Arnold had to come out of Real Madrid’s 3–0 win over Athletic Club only 10 minutes into the second half because of a quad injury.

In a social media post, the former Liverpool defender confirmed he won’t play again until 2026.

“Absolutely gutted about this one,” Alexander-Arnold, addressing his Instagram followers. “The timing of it hurts but I will work hard to come back stronger and better.

“See you in 2026, Madridistas.”

View this post on Instagram

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Alexander-Arnold Set for Two Months Out

After initial concerns of a lengthy layoff, reports suggested that Alexander-Arnold is expected to miss around two months. That timeframe puts him on course to return in early February.

Assuming he is declared healthy again in the first week of February, the right back would miss up to 14 games across four different competitions. Between now and then, Los Blancos are stretched across La Liga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España.

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Games Alexander-Arnold Is Set to Miss

Date	Opponent	Competition
Dec. 7, 2025	Celta Vigo (H)	La Liga
Dec. 10, 2025	Man City (H)	Champions League
Dec. 14, 2025	Alavés (A)	La Liga
TBC	TBC	Copa del Rey
Dec. 20, 2025	Sevilla (H)	La Liga
Jan. 4, 2026	Real Betis (H)	La Liga
Jan. 8, 2026	Atlético Madrid (N)	Supercopa de España
Jan. 11, 2026*	TBC	Supercopa de España
TBC*	TBC	Copa del Rey
Jan. 18, 2026	Levante (H)	La Liga
Jan. 20, 2026	Monaco (H)	Champions League
Jan. 25, 2026	Villarreal (A)	La Liga
Jan. 28, 2026	Benfica (A)	Champions League
Feb. 1, 2026	Rayo Vallecano (H)	La Liga

*dependent on cup progression

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Real Madrid’s Right Back Hole

Dani Carvajal last played in October. / Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images

Dani Carvajal was already injured and Real Madrid don’t have another senior right back, which gives manager Xabi Alonso a massive headache during a busy part of the season.

The club captain is sidelined with a knee injury and is not on course to return before late January.

It was expected that the pair would have to share game time this season, which was likely to satisfy neither, but now both are simultaneously injured.

The burden to plug the gap is expected to fall on midfielder Federico Valverde again. The Uruguay international has already spent six weeks of October into November at right back to cover Carvajal and Alexander-Arnold’s previous injury absences.

He has played the position semi-regularly over the past 18 months, notably when he captained Real Madrid to victory over Manchester City in a two-legged Champions League playoff last season.

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