Madrid, Oct 30 (IANS) Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hinted that Spain international midfielder Xabi Alonso could have a role to play when his side entertain Sevilla in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Wednesday night.
Alonso has not played a competitive match since a pelvic injury saw him forced out of the Confederations Cup in the summer and his return would be a big boost for a Madrid side still licking their wounds following a 1-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Clasico Saturday night, reports Xinhua.
“He’s available. He’s training with the squad. He could start on the bench and I’ll try to play him,” said Ancelotti, who added that he would not change his system of the three man midfield to accommodate Alonso.
“Our system won’t change. Xabi is good enough to help us play better. He’s experienced and is a great passer of the ball with a good defensive attitude,” he added.
He said it might be a good thing if the midfielder was called up to play in the forthcoming friendly games for the Spanish national team as what he needed to do at the moment was to play as much football as possible, and the Madrid coach insisted Alonso would be able to play alongside Asier Illaramendi, who many think was bought this summer in order to be his long term replacement.