A hard blow for the public, but also and above all for his team: one of the stars expected at the Women's Football Euro, will miss the competition.

The Spanish Alexia Putellas, Ballon d'Or 2021, ruptured the ligaments of the left knee during a training session on Tuesday, as the tournament begins this Wednesday in England.

"Tests carried out on the Spanish international on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at King Edward VII Hospital in London, confirmed that the captain of the Spain women's national team was suffering from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, ”announced the Spanish selection.

The FC Barcelona attacking midfielder, who last week became the only Spanish player to reach 100 caps with La Roja, was injured during morning training at the Bisham Abbey complex in the town of Barlow, near London .

A very long track record

Hottest player of the past two seasons, captain and playmaker of Barça, Ballon d'Or 2021, winner of the 2021 Champions League and runner-up in the 2022 edition of which she finished top scorer, Putellas, 28, dreamed of taking Spain, of which it was to be the spearhead, to the roof of Europe.

The task now looks more difficult for La Roja, already deprived of its top scorer, Barça striker Jenni Hermoso, injured and forfeited for the competition, too.

Especially since the Spanish selection, led by Jorge Vilda, has rarely shone in international competitions, with only three appearances in the final table of the Euro in twelve editions.

In the wake of Putellas, the Spaniards had not lost a single match since March 2020.

Over 150 goals with Barca

A hard blow for Spain, Putellas' withdrawal is also a blow for the competition of which she was to be a beacon.

If the playmaker with the “silky left foot” has worn FC Barcelona and the Spanish selection for ten years, “Alexia”, as it is written on the back of her jersey, has truly collected individual awards for two seasons.

She had thus been named by UEFA best player of the year, and best midfielder in the Champions League 2020-2021.

Last April, she had exceeded the milestone of 150 goals scored in the colors of FC Barcelona, ​​which she led to a historic treble Cup-Championship-Champions League in 2021.

La Roja will therefore have to do without it in England.

According to the Spanish press, the playmaker should be replaced for the competition by Amaiur Sarriegi, from Real Sociedad.

In Group B with Germany, Denmark and Finland, Spain will start their Euro on Friday at 6 p.m. at the MK Stadium in Denbigh against the Finns.

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