The Spain Manager Denies Any Blame For Gavi’s Injury

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Spain manager Luis de la Fuente denies responsibility for Gavi’s season-ending injury during his time with the national team.

Spain’s manager clarified that Barcelona didn’t inform them about Gavi’s unavailability for La Roja’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia on November 19.

Sadly, Gavi sustained a severe injury, tearing the ACL in his right knee during the match.

This injury sidelines him for at least nine months, and he’s scheduled for surgery this week.

De la Fuente emphasized that the player’s health is his top concern and mentioned he had initial plans to take Gavi off at half-time.

On the El Larguero podcast on La Ser, the Spain manager mentioned, “Barcelona didn’t request Gavi to skip the last Spain game. Like I stay out of club matters, I prefer when they do too. Our plan was for players to focus on their clubs after leaving. We intended for Gavi to play only 45 minutes in the second game.”

“We always prioritize the players’ health. Gavi, like others, loves playing every match. He’s so energetic that after a previous game, he wanted a regular training session instead of recovery.”

He mentioned, “I checked with him at halftime, and he said there was no issue during the first action. The doctors didn’t detect any knee instability and allowed him to keep playing. If there was a clear injury or if the player had alerted us, he wouldn’t have stayed on the field even for a moment.”

“As for the doctors’ opinions, I haven’t been following media reports lately. I try to live more calmly. Our medical team confirmed initially that the player could continue. Some say it was a friendly match, but that’s not true. It was a qualifying game, representing our country. Nothing is handed to anyone.”

Despite losing a crucial player to a severe injury, Barcelona manager Xavi previously mentioned that he had no issues with the Spain boss and had discussed the incident with him.

During the podcast, the 62-year-old also mentioned his conversation with Xavi, stating, “Xavi mentioned he spoke to me, and I expressed our regret. It was an accident; football involves maximum risk, just like what occurred with Yeremy Pino during training. Fatigue? Every footballer wants to be on the field.”

The ex-Golden Boy award recipient is likely to stay sidelined for the rest of the current season and might also miss Euro 2024, set to begin in June in Germany.

Following his unfortunate injury, the 22-year-old received widespread support from various sources. Including a note of encouragement sent by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

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