Spain, the 7/2 favorite to triumph at the upcoming Women's European Championship in England, has suffered a massive blow to its campaign ahead of its opening match against Finland on Friday. On Tuesday, Spain's national team confirmed that 2021 Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas had suffered a sprain in her left knee during training.
Putellas was then taken to the hospital to discover the extent of her injury.
La internacional Alexia Putellas, camino del hospital para realizarse las pertinentes pruebas médicas que determinarán el alcance de su lesión. pic.twitter.com/Q6cvrP5dXs
— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 5, 2022
According to the latest reports, Putellas suffered a torn ACL.
The 28-year-old attacking midfielder was the leading scorer in the 2021-22 Champions League with 11 goals in 10 games and named the UWCL Player of the Season. Putellas also scored 18 goals and provided 15 assists in 26 Primera División matches for Barcelona.
She was on the scoresheet for La Roja on July 1 in a 1-1 friendly draw with Italy, giving Putellas 27 goals in 100 international appearances.
Esther González, Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmatí and Lucía García are all quality attackers that must now step up for Spain, but there's no replacing the generational talent of Putellas.
