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The Spanish national team confirmed on Tuesday the bad news. Barcelona Femení captain and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas suffered an ACL tear in her left knee. She injured her knee during training with Spain ahead of the Women’s UEFA EURO.
Alexia hurt her knee during Monday’s training session in London. The extent of the injury was confirmed 24 hours later after further tests. The injury is a huge blow to Spain’s hopes of winning the Euros. They were one of the favorites thanks to the large number of Barça Femení players in the squad. But without the world’s best player the job just got a whole lot tougher for La Roja.
Beyond the immediate impact on the national team, Alexia’s injury also has big ramifications for Femení next season. Without a lot of depth in midfield, manager Jonatan Giráldez will have to find creative ways to replace Putellas until she can return some time early next year if the recovery goes according to plan.
If Barça can cope without Alexia for the first half of the season and still be in strong position in both the league and the Champions League, then they’ll have their best player back and hopefully as close to top form as possible for the most important part of the campaign.
These knee injuries are always brutal and it can take quite some time to be at 100% again, but Alexia is a rare kind of footballer who will no doubt be back to her best before we know it.
Get well soon, Queen.
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