Valverde is wrapping up a decade as Athletic Bilbao’s head coach during an exceptionally difficult season, largely due to injuries and Yeray’s lengthy ten-month doping ban. What has hurt the team most, however, has been the stop-start availability of Sancet and, above all, the recurring issues plaguing Nico Williams, who has struggled with pubic problems throughout the campaign. After overcoming those with various treatments, including help from an external specialist, he now has a hamstring muscle injury just one month before the World Cup.
“It can’t be,” appeared to be the words on the winger’s lips shortly after the half-hour mark yesterday, following an action down the left flank. He sat down in midfield after feeling a sharp pain and immediately called for a substitution. Today, an MRI revealed he is suffering from a “moderate injury to the hamstring muscles of his left leg,” according to the medical report.
Nico Williams, MVP of the Euro final in Germany, limped off to the dressing room at halftime with ice on his thigh. Due to a lack of continuity from injuries and physical setbacks, he has only completed four full matches this season. He has missed 17 games: ten in La Liga, five in the Champions League, one in the Copa, and the Super Cup. He will be sidelined for the remaining two weeks of La Liga and likely one or two more, hoping to recover in time for the World Cup. Sancet shares the same prognosis regarding recovery time.
This diagnosis comes on the same day the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) sent FIFA the provisional list of 55 players reserved for the tournament in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The No. 10 is included in that call-up, from which the final 26 will be selected. Nico has until May 30, when the definitive roster is due, to push his recovery and be ready. Several players important to De la Fuente are dealing with physical issues, including Lamine, Rodri, Merino, and Víctor Muñoz.
Athletic Bilbao’s Iñaki tried to console his brother yesterday after the match: “The worst part is that we lose him for these days, and it’s close to the World Cup, but the tough thing is we can’t count on him for the final matches.” According to the Ghanaian international, the feeling was grim: “I barely spoke with him; it’s not the time to pressure him, and he has a lot on his mind. He was limping pretty badly and said he had never felt pain like that.”
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