May 8, 2012 -- Updated 1546 GMT (2346 HKT)
Barcelona defender Carles Puyol played all but seven minutes of Spain's successful World Cup campaign in 2010
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Barcelona defender Carles Puyol is set to miss Spain's Euro 2012 campaign
- Puyol will miss six weeks after suffering a knee injury during the game with Espanyol
- The 34-year-old was a mainstay in Spain's victories at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup
- Puyol will miss Barcelona's Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25
The 34-year-old felt pain
in his knee after his side's 4-0 victory in the Barcelona derby against
Espanyol on Saturday -- a game in which he scored.
The Catalan club have
confirmed Puyol will undergo surgery to correct the problem and as a
result he will miss the Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on
May 25.
That match also
represents coach Pep Guardiola's last game in charge of the club after
he, together with Puyol as skipper, led Barcelona to an unprecedented 13
trophies in his four-year tenure.
A statement on the club's official website read: "Carles Puyol will not be featuring in the Copa del Rey Final on May 25.
"The Medical Services have announced that the player ended the game on Saturday against Espanyol feeling pain in his right knee.
"'Following complementary tests, we have decided to subject the player to arthroscopy next Saturday May 12,' they said.
"The surgery will be directed by Doctor Ramon Cugat. The Catalan is expected to need about six weeks to recover."
With Spain's opening game
of Euro 2012 coming against Italy on June 10, it means coach Vicente
del Bosque could be without one of his stalwarts for the tournament.
Puyol will be a big loss
for Spain. He played all but seven minutes of their successful 2010
World Cup campaign in South Africa and scored the winner in his
country's semifinal victory over Germany.
He played the full 120
minutes in the final against Netherlands as Spain won soccer's biggest
prize for the first time in their history.
Two years prior to that,
Puyol was also an integral part of the Spanish team that won the
European Championships in Austria and Switzerland.
No comments:
Post a Comment