Spain national soccer team defender Marc Cucurella (26, Chelsea) is not hiding his bitterness at the news of his teammates’ injuries.
“In the end, it’s what they say,” he told Spain’s COPE on Tuesday. Too many games, too little rest. We are not machines,” he said.
The Spanish national team has been hit by a rash of injuries recently. Rodríguez (28, Manchester City), Dani Carvajal (32, Real Madrid), and Nico Williams (22, Athletic Bilbao) have all been at risk of injury at their respective clubs.
Rodríguez suffered the injury against Arsenal when he landed after a tussle with Thomas Partey. He suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus and is out for the season.
Carvajal was injured in a collision with Jeremy Pino against Villarreal. He suffered anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament, and popliteal muscle injuries and underwent surgery and is also out for the season.
Nico Williams joined the training camp of the Spanish national team. However, he was withdrawn from the squad due to discomfort and was replaced by Sergio Gomes.
Coincidentally,
Rodríguez and Carvajal had both expressed their dissatisfaction with the heavy schedule of matches last month before their injuries, and had talked about the possibility of a players’ strike. “I think we are close to that situation, I think (the number of games) is too much,” Rodri said of a possible players’ strike.
“The quality of the games is also important. There will come a moment when there will be no other option,” he said, adding, ”In my experience, it’s not good to play 60 or 70 games a season. Somewhere between 40 and 50 games is the sweet spot where you can play at a high level.”
Carvajal added: “This season we might play more than 70 games. It’s crazy,” he said, adding, ”A strike is definitely possible. The players are not being heard. 메이저사이트 And we are the ones who should have a voice,” he argued, expressing concern about the tight schedule.
In fact, the world’s best players could play 70 to 80 games in the 2024-2025 season with an expanded UEFA Champions League and the introduction of FIFA’s new Club World Cup in June and July.
Spain came out on top after defeating England in the Euro 2024 final in Germany.
But the loss of those key players to injury has weakened their strength in the UEFA Nations League.
“We lost two very important players for a long time,” Kukureya said. Now Nico is gone too. We are still hanging on,” he lamented.
When asked about the secret to avoiding injuries, he said, “You give it your all and if it pops, it pops. You can’t control it,” he said, adding, ”I think I’ve been a bit lucky that I haven’t had too many muscle injuries. I hope it stays that way.”
“We won the championship, but they are two captains and key players in the team,” he said of Rodri and Carvajal’s injuries, adding, ”We miss them. On a day-to-day basis, we are a very good group, but the important thing is that they recover well.”
“We will do our best and hopefully they will be back in time for the World Cup,” said Kukureya, adding, ”After the Euros, you get more attention and more people recognize you. Winning the Euro is historic and will always be remembered.”
Meanwhile, Spain, who face Serbia and Denmark during the A-Match, will be without Dani Olmo and Unai Simone, among others, due to injury.