Pau Cubarsi withdrew from the Spain squad on Friday, and national team officials are now fearing that another defender could drop out before they take on The Netherlands in the second leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie.
Cubarsi injured his ankle in the first half of Thursday’s first leg in Rotterdam, and he was not the only Spain defender to do so. Robin Le Normand, who was the central defensive partner of the Barcelona starlet, also took a strong blow after a challenge from Jorrel Hato, who was subsequently shown a red card by referee Glenn Nyberg.
As reported by MD, Le Normand is suffering with the after-effects of that challenge, as he still has pain in the ankle that was affected by Hato’s challenge. Because of this, he will be closely monitored by La Roja’s medical staff over the last 24-48 hours, before it is determined whether he can play the second leg on Sunday, which takes place at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.
If Le Normand cannot play in Valencia, it could mean that Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente would be without five central defenders that he would ordinarily have in-and-around the squad: Aymeric Laporte, Dani Vivian, Inigo Martinez, Cubarsi and Le Normand. Presently, the options of Dean Huijsen, Raul Asencio and Mario Gila are there, although they are three players that are very inexperienced when it comes to senior international football.
Atletico Madrid will be watching Le Normand’s situation closely, like Barcelona were with Cubarsi. They will not want Spain to take any chances with their defender, who has already missed a fair portion of the season after he suffered a traumatic brain injury back in September. For now, the situation will be monitored, with the likelihood being that a decision will be made in the next 48 hours.
