Only 12 days and three games after Real Sociedad paid Almeria 30,000,000 euros for Umar Sadiq, the Nigerian footballer suffered the most serious sports injury, tearing of the anterior cruciate ligaments. The forecasts were clear, the season was over for Sadiq. However, it seems that the striker of the Basque team managed to recover faster than anyone could have guessed – he is back to training ahead of the league meeting with Real Madrid.Sadiq has started working in the gym, which is a huge step towards getting back on the field. Of course, he will have to wait a little longer. However, the Nigerian himself said that he expects to be fully ready before the Spanish championship ends.”I knew that once you decide that results matter and you want to highlight your purpose in life, you can’t help but be even more determined and dedicated in your daily work. You have to be relentlessly persistent to fulfill your desired goal, but the happiness and satisfaction you will feel at the end of the process is phenomenal,” Sadiq said via Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sadiq MEGA👑 🐆 (@sadiq.umar19) When exactly we will see Sadiq in action with the ball again, it is still difficult to predict. Certainly, in the near future he could start with light training sessions with the team. A huge deal for the team currently third in the table, who are in a great position to qualify for the Champions League.Today, Sociedad are playing perhaps a key match towards achieving that goal. If they were to triumph at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Basque would take over, at least for a short time, the second position from the Royal Club. Because the difference between them is only three points, with Madrid having played one less match.Sociedad are in phenomenal form, if we look at the Spanish championship. They recorded a five victories streak, ending with a triumph in Madrid over Rayo Vallecano (2-0) last weekend. After that, however, they suffered one defeat in the quarter-finals of Copa del Rey, against Barcelona at Camp Nou 1-0. It was the only one of the six games in 2023 in which Sociedad did not triumph, and it was only the second conceded goal.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The two Reals have not met yet this season, and last year the Royal Club triumphed twice. First in San Sebastian 2-0, then in March of last year at home 4-1. Interestingly, it was only Madrid’s second triumph over Sociedad in the last five meetings at home. Before that, they had two defeats, one each in the Primera Division and in the Spanish cup, with one league draw.Madridians squad will not be complete tonight. Four first-team players are missing, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Aurelian Tchouameni and the latest addition to the injury list, Ferland Mendy. Mendy injured his hamstring in the last match against Atletico Madrid (3-1), so he will be out for about a month. The same as Alaba, who renewed his right shoulder injury against Villarreal.Sociedad are not complete either, in addition to Sadiq, Ander Barenechea, Andoni Gorosabel, Alex Sola, David Silva and Mikel Merino are missing. The latter is missed the most, as he participated in a huge number of goals for the team from San Sebastian this season, with scoring two and assisting with seven.Real Madrid will need to beat 3rd place Real Sociedad in order to keep up to Barcelona 👏 pic.twitter.com/RkHjRNqxqB— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 26, 2023 LA LIGA – ROUND 19FridayAlmeria – Espanyol 3-1 (1-0)/Suarez 21, Baptistao 61, Portillo 77 – Joselu 90+3/SaturdayCadiz – Mallorca 2-0 (2-0)/Bongonda 10, Fernanddez 38 pen/Girona – Barcelona 0-1 (0-0)/Pedri 61/Sevilla – Elche 3-0 (3-0)En Nesyri 29, 45+3, Acuna 43/Getafe – Betis 0-1 (0-0)/Iglesias 86 pen/SundayValladolid – Valencia 0-018:15: (3.50) Osasuna (3.15) Atl.Madrid (2.35)20:30: (3.05) Celta (3.05) Ath.Bilbao (2.70)23:00: (1.75) Real Madrid (3.70) Sociedad (5.40)Monday23:00: (1.73) Villareal (3.60) Rayo Vallecano (5.10)***odds are subject to change***
