"Has informed me"

European Championship exit probably fixed! David Alaba operated on again

David Alaba (left) and Ralf Rangnick

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

David Alaba's already extremely slim chances of taking part in the European Football Championship are apparently gone for good. As reported by Spanish media, including "Relevo" and "Marca", the ÖFB captain had to undergo an arthroscopy on his left knee in Innsbruck and is therefore definitely out of the running for the finals. Team boss Ralf Rangnick has since provided a brief update.

Alaba tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee on December 17, and even without the setback, playing in Germany would have been very unrealistic. According to "Marca", Alaba felt pain during tests, which ultimately led to a new operation that delayed the recovery process by around two weeks.

"No significant influence on the healing process"
ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick said in an ÖFB press release: "David informed me about the operation on Wednesday. It was an arthroscopy, which has no significant influence on his healing process."

Squad announcement on Tuesday
Over the past few days, there has also been speculation in the Spanish media that Alaba could be part of the ÖFB squad during the EUROs despite his injury. It should be clear next Tuesday when team boss Ralf Rangnick names his squad for the final European Championship tests on June 4 in Vienna against Serbia and on June 8 in St. Gallen against Switzerland. This squad will probably be at least largely identical to the final EURO squad.

In addition to Alaba, Xaver Schlager and Sasa Kalajdzic, who are also suffering from torn cruciate ligaments, cannot be included. There are also big question marks over Alexander Schlager and Philipp Lienhart's participation in the European Championship. Maximilian Wöber and Kevin Danso have also been injured recently, but this duo should be fit in time.