Valencia (Spain) (AFP)
The French international Jonathan Ikoné, victim of a minor traffic accident, had to withdraw from Valencia on Tuesday in the Champions League (9 pm), announced the Lille coach Christophe Galtier, who chose to align to his place the experienced striker Loïc Rémy.
Ikoné, a goalscorer in the first leg (1-1), was not even selected on the scoresheet, said Galtier at the microphone of the French channel RMC Sport.
"Before the training he suffered a small traffic accident, which led to the fact that he could not train," said the technician.
"Nothing serious, there is nothing at the level of his health, simply he is not in a state to perform (...) .I made the decision not to align in consultation with my medical staff and himself, "continued Galtier. "This (Tuesday) morning, despite all the care that was done to him, he still feels contractures in the back, muscles and I could not afford to take risks for his health."
In the absence of Ikoné, the coach of the Dogues has opted for Remy, who knows Spain well for having evolved. The former Lyonnais had scored a double during his last visit to the stadium of Mestalla, in 2018, then under the colors of Getafe.
Valencia side, Albert Celades has chosen to surprise the midfield, starting the young South Korean Lee Kang-in (18 years). He had had less than 60 minutes of play in C1 this season.
The Frenchmen Kevin Gameiro and Elaquim Mangala were left on the substitutes' bench at the start of this crucial match for both teams.
Valencia: Cillessen - Gaya, Paulista, Garay, Wass - Kondogbia, Cape Parejo, KA Lee - Cherychev, Rodrigo, Mr. Gomez
Lille: Maignan - Soumaoro, Cast iron (cap), Gabriel - Celik, Soumaré, Andre, Bradaric - Remy, Osimhen, Yazici
© 2019 AFP