Luis Enrique has essentially had confirmation that one of his key attacking weapons for Euro 2020 will not be available for the World Cup.
Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury back in March and has been on the long road to recovery since, with hopes of making the World Cup squad.
Over a month ago he returned to partial work on the pitch, spiking hopes that he could make a late run for the squad. However Real Sociedad have named their squad for their trip to Sevilla and as Diario AS point out, Oyarzabal is not on that list.
It was taken as a given that Oyarzabal would need to play again before the World Cup in order to make the tournament.
The 25-year-old has played 21 times for Spain, scoring six goals in the process. At Euro 2020 last summer, Oyarzabal featured in every Spain game, starting their semi-final against Italy.
Luis Enrique relies on him for a specific role in attack, that combines intelligent movement inside the box from the flanks. It seems likely that Dani Olmo, if selected, and Ferran Torres will fulfil some of that function.
Image via LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images
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