The Spanish national team has convened at the Las Rozas training camp to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, without Lamine Yamal and Rodri Hernandez. Borja Iglesias, Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena are among the new faces in the squad.
The Spaish national team convened late on Monday at the Ciudad del Futbol, with Lamine Yamal and Rodri Hernandez absent through injury. The squad sees the return of Borja Iglesias, Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios, Alex Baena and Samu Aghehowa.
To compound matters, Lamine’s relapse from a pubic problem on Friday was followed by a muscular injury sustained by Rodri on Sunday playing for City. Luis de la Fuente will now be without two of his key players for the matches against Georgia and Bulgaria in the third and fourth rounds of the World Cup qualifiers.
Injuries to Carvajal, Fabian, Nico Williams, Fermin and Gavi have also opened the door for returning players. Marcos Llorente, who arrived at the training camp alongside Pablo Barrios, and Borja Iglesias, who has not played for Spain for two and a half years, are back in contention, while Baena and Samu Aghehowa have also been recalled.
Alejandro Grimaldo has joined up with the squad and will be assessed by the medical staff, after being forced off in Bayer Leverkusen’s last match. He suffered a heavy blow to the head in a clash with teammate Kofane, requiring several stitches. He arrived at the training camp with a protective dressing and is keen to stay with the squad.
The long lead-in to the first match, which Spain will play at the Martinez Valero in Elche on Saturday (at 20:45 local time; 18:45 GMT) against Georgia, has led to a change in the team’s usual plans. De la Fuente has given his players a day off, and they met for dinner at the training camp before commencing training on Tuesday.
The Spanish internationals will train at the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas until Friday, when they will travel to Elche in the afternoon. The first training session, on Tuesday, will take place in the evening, starting at 19:00 (17:00 GMT), and will be open to fans until full capacity is reached.
