Athletic Bilbao are facing multiple injury headaches ahead of the second leg of their Europa League semi-final clash with Manchester United.
That’s according to El Correo, who report that the Spanish side have several concerns before the second leg against Manchester United this week.
The newspaper explains that Athletic have been busy preparing for what will be the most important game of the season with their player wrapped up in cotton wool.
They are starting to feel the side effects of a busy season in which they’ve competed in four competitions and player two games week for practically two months.
Players in particular are struggling and chief among them is star man Nico Williams. He’s been dealing with ‘pubalgia’ for weeks and did not train with the group on Tuesday. That was the last time they will train before travelling to Manchester for the clash with Manchester United.
He instead trained on his own, in parts with the ball, but there are concerns about him ahead of the game. He is unlikely to be below 100% but will travel with his teammates.
His brother, Iñaki Williams, is another concern. He left the pitch on Sunday with ‘severe pain’ and has undergone an MRI. He did not train in Tuesday either. The extent of his injury is unknown.
Likewise, neither Sancet nor Unai Gómez have joined training, with the former, their top goal scorer, likely to miss the trip. Him making it is seen as ‘almost impossible’ at this point. Bermeo is also absent.
It’s a growing list of problems for the Spanish side, who will surely have hoped for a different set of circumstances as they look to overcome Manchester United’s 3-0 win from the first leg.
