Spain’s Nico Williams has strongly criticised the “completely unnecessary” tackle by a Uruguay player which left him with another injury. The winger and Yéremy Pino were hurt as qualification for the last 32 came at a heavy price, though the European champions issued a more positive update than expected on the players’ condition.
Spain described the injuries sustained by Pino and Williams as moderate. Pino had been expected to miss the rest of the World Cup and there were concerns they had lost Williams too.
Spain said X-rays showed Pino had not sustained a fractured collar bone against Uruguay but an acromioclavicular sprain and that Williams had an adductor injury. A statement said the players’ availability would be determined by the rate of recovery.
Williams made clear his displeasure at the challenge that hurt him. Nicolás de la Cruz committed a dreadful tackle on him which sparked confrontations in the final minutes. Neither Williams nor Spain specified which tackle caused the injury.
“Today is one of the worst days of my life,” Williams posed on social media. “I am injured again after a very difficult year. Yesterday, I suffered a new injury following an incident where a fellow professional acted out of frustration, unhappiness, and sadness over the situation he was going through. In my opinion, it was a play that could have been avoided, as it was completely unnecessary. But this won’t stop me.”
Williams had targeted the game against Uruguay as the day when he would be 100% fit after a season when he sustained a sportsman’s hernia, as well as groin and hamstring injuries, and had said he had no problem with playing 90 minutes. Instead, he was introduced after 76 minutes. He had come on just after the hour against Saudi Arabia and on 87 against Cape Verde. He had played six of the past 15 games and completed 90 minutes only three times.
Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay in a physical and at times violent match in Guadalajara secured first place in Group H for Spain, but Pino, who came on as a second-half substitute, experienced a heavy fall. Although the Crystal Palace winger played on until the final whistle, he departed the stadium with his arm in a sling.
The Spain coach, Luis de la Fuente, described him as “heroic” and said he had a suspected fracture, adding that there was “a high possibility he will miss the rest of the competition”. Williams left the stadium head down and limping.
The new Liverpool signing Víctor Muñoz, who has not played in the tournament, is still training alone. With Lamine Yamal also returning from an injury, although he has now been able to start the past two games, that means there are fitness doubts over all four natural wingers in the squad.
Williams, like Lamine Yamal, arrived at the World Cup still in the process of recovering from injury, with the coach trying to introduce his two wingers bit by bit. Out since April, Lamine Yamal had come on as a substitute in Spain’s opening game against Cape Verde, then started the matches against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay as he nears full fitness. The teenager is not yet there, though: he has played 19, 45 and 75 minutes respectively in Spain’s three matches so far.
As for Muñoz, he sustained a calf injury in the buildup to the tournament and had a further setback when he was diagnosed with another muscular injury. He is now training on the pitch but has not yet rejoined his teammates.
“We’re getting a bit short on specialist wingers,” De la Fuente said. “We won’t change our ideas, but will have different players with different characteristics. If we can’t play with wingers, we’ll play without wingers.”
