Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has stated that Pau Cubarsi still has a chance to play in Sunday’s second leg despite sustaining an ankle injury in Thursday night’s first leg of the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal match against the Netherlands.
In Rotterdam, Cubarsi was substituted out in the closing minutes of the first half, and De la Fuente disclosed following the game that the 18-year-old had sustained a mild sprain.
According to Sports Mole, the Barcelona center-back might be available for the return match on Sunday night, though, if the problem is not as serious as initially thought.
“It’s his ankle, it’s a sprain. We want to try and recover him by Sunday and we’ll see how it goes in the coming days,” the Spain boss told reporters after the 2-2 draw.
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“It doesn’t seem too serious, but there are only a few days left to recover, we have to be cautious.”
Nico Williams gave Spain the lead against the Netherlands early on, but Cody Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders’ goals put Ronald Koeman’s team ahead.
Mikel Merino’s late equalizer for La Roja meant that the points were shared in Rotterdam.
Given the short turnaround, it would be surprising to see Cubarsi play in the second leg, and Barcelona would be anxious to minimize any risks with their teenage star at this point in the season.
In fact, the Catalan powerhouses will return to action on March 27 when they play Osasuna in La Liga. In the latter part of the season, they are also fighting for the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
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