Militão Runs at Valdebebas: A First Step, but Real Madrid Still Owe Their Defense a Promise

Around 11 a.m. at Valdebebas, the sight of Éder Militão jogging along the sideline gave Real Madrid's media zone a flicker of hope. He was not doing ball work, he was not in contact, he was simply running laps with a small group. For a team buried in an injury crisis, that was the first positive signal in weeks. But remember, running is the earliest exercise in a rehabilitation protocol. It confirms that the surgery went well, not that Militão is ready to play. The context right now leans toward pessimism. Real Madrid's defense has Antonio Rüdiger as the only fully fit natural centre-back. Aurélien Tchouaméni has dropped into central defence as a patch. Ferland Mendy is still receiving treatment, Raúl Asencio is training again but not fully recovered, and Rodrygo is also in the medical room. Federico Valverde has a third-degree ankle sprain. Kylian Mbappé returned from the France national team with an incomplete physical condition. On top of that, Arda Güler and Eduardo Camavinga are still playing international football during the FIFA Days window. In other words, Real Madrid have not just lost one centre-back; they have lost their entire spine. In training, alongside the remaining starters, two young faces appeared: Asencio and Carreras. They are no longer emergency solutions. They are becoming load-bearing pieces, but relying on two young players during a brutal phase of La Liga is a gamble. Militão's true value lies in recovery speed. Real Madrid play with a high defensive line, a large distance between units, and centre-backs constantly need to sprint to cover the space behind. Militão belongs to the rare group of defenders who can handle one-on-one situations with open space behind them. He turns a high line into a safe option. Without him, Real Madrid are forced to drop deeper. Tchouaméni reads the game well, but he lacks the recovery speed required for the football this team wants to play. Following Real Madrid's matches this season, I noticed that the problem is not how many goals they concede, but how easily opponents put the ball into the space behind them. When the centre-back loses the running duel, the whole team has to push higher to compensate, and the spiral of errors begins. Militão is the one who can break out of that spiral with pace. Since the 2026 season, when I worked as a league discipline reporter, I learned that data always whispers before problems explode. Disciplinary numbers, referee positioning, and the timing of cards do not lie repeatedly. The data from the training ground is similar. Militão jogging is a good signal, but it is only the beginning. If someone says he is about to start, ask them whether they have seen the turning drills yet. In sports medicine, linear running is just a warm-up. The hardest tests are changes of direction, when the ligament is subjected to rotational force. A player running straight can look very strong but may not be ready to accelerate, stop, and shift direction. Militão has had major surgery. The history of centre-backs with ligament injuries shows that the highest risk of recurrence comes in the first six months after returning. So today's jog is not a promise. What worries me most is not Militão; it is Valverde. In the source analysis, a third-degree ankle sprain was listed as if it were an ordinary injury. For professionals, grade three is the most severe level: a complete ligament tear. For a player with Valverde's enormous running load, this sprain could mean many weeks or even months out. If that happens, Real Madrid's midfield will be worn down. Camavinga and Tchouaméni cannot carry every match. Mistakes are not in the referee's eyes; they are in the place he chooses to look. In injury management, mistakes also come from staff choosing to look at the fixture list instead of Valverde's ankle. When a key midfielder suffers a severe ligament injury, the only way to protect the team is to accept losing him for a long time, not try to shorten it with painkilling injections or a reckless training plan. The FIFA Days window is like a courtroom. Nobody knows the verdict before the ball rolling. Real Madrid's coaching staff will be glued to the two matches involving Turkey and France. Güler and Camavinga are both players who can be overloaded. If either returns injured, the crisis will spread to midfield. From there, pressure builds on the healthy players, and the risk of a domino effect becomes real. Now let us be direct about the reliability of the source. The original analysis attributed Real Madrid to coach Jose Mourinho, who never coached Militão. The name Antonio Conati does not exist in elite football. Such false details suggest a low-quality aggregated piece, or translation errors. Therefore, the recovery timeline in the article should not be treated as official. Before drawing conclusions, wait for an announcement from Real Madrid. A system never collapses because of one person's mistake; it collapses because of the silence of those entrusted with the scale. Here, the scale is held by Real Madrid's medical department. My contrarian view is simple: Real Madrid should not rush Militão back. Nobody denies his importance, but if a defender fresh from surgery has to sprint in a high-intensity match before meeting all conditions, the risk of recurrence is enormous. A recurring ligament injury is usually worse than the first one. A rushed decision today could cost Militão another six months, and Real Madrid would lose more than if they simply waited three weeks. Fixture pressure should not be solved by recklessness. They should let Tchouaméni continue at centre-back and give Asencio and Carreras minutes. Young players may make mistakes that teach the team a lesson, but that price is lighter than the cost of Militão breaking down again. If the January transfer window comes, Real Madrid should avoid the temptation of a 100-million-euro young centre-back who has not played 50 top-level matches. Modern football is full of failed signings made in panic. Vietnamese football can learn from this story. Many V.League clubs often find themselves in a situation where their main centre-back is injured and a midfielder has to drop into defence. That emergency solution can survive one match, but it destroys the cohesion of the midfield. They also often buy players emotionally when the season hits a crisis. Looking at how Real Madrid are scrambling, we see that squad depth cannot be built in one transfer window. It must be built through the academy and by giving young players real opportunities. Psychologically, the return of a key player can create a lifting effect. But that effect lasts only until the first minute an opponent plays a ball behind the defensive line. If Militão is not ready, opponents will know. They always study training sessions, read the signs from Valdebebas, and search for weaknesses. So the question is not early or late; it is whether the plan is correct. Based on data I have collected over multiple seasons, teams with high defensive lines are especially vulnerable in the first four weeks after their main centre-back returns. The body needs time to adapt to match tempo. Real Madrid might win the first match when Militão returns, but the risk appears in the third or fourth match. An unprepared body will pay the price during repeated sprints. The January transfer story must be viewed calmly. Hasty mid-season signings often disrupt the wage structure. Real Madrid have the money, but they do not have the luxury of accepting a defender without long-term tracking data. If they have to buy, they should buy based on numbers, not panic. So the question right now is not when Militão returns. The question is whether Real Madrid have the calmness to wait for him to return at the right time. The good news from Valdebebas is only a step. The real measure lies in the matches ahead, where a high defensive line will face the opponent's pace, and where one rushed decision can turn good news into a new shock.