Athletic had concerns over a few players’ fitness for the Europa League clash against Rangers at Ibrox on Thursday.
On Tuesday, we covered claims from Spain that Athletic are awaiting developments on Aitor Paredes, Yeray Álvarez, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Yuri Berchiche. They also stated the quartet are ‘not ruled out’ to face Rangers.
Wednesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo states Berchiche is the only player to miss the clash against Rangers.
Ernesto Valverde will have Paredes, Álvarez and Galarreta as the trio have recovered on time for the trip to Glasgow. The manager needs to make a decision on who will replace Berchiche to face the Scottish club.
Over at Marca, they report that Iñigo Lekue would take the left-back’s place in the squad. He mainly operates as a right-back but can be deployed on the left side of the defence.
Berchiche picked up an injury in his side’s goalless draw against Villarreal last weekend. The newspaper states the 35-year-old has a ‘mild-moderate injury to the soleus muscle in his right leg’.
Marca claim the test results would allow him to be involved against Rangers, but he won’t travel to Ibrox.
Valverde and Athletic plan not to take a risk with the fullback as they risk losing him for the rest of the season. Berchiche could be available for the return leg in Spain next Thursday.
