Reigning champions and 5/2 favourites Spain have been dealt a huge blow with the news star striker David Villa will miss this summer’s European Championship.
The Barcelona forward suffered a fractured tibia in December and has been sidelined since.
Vicente del Bosque had stated he would give Villa every chance to prove his fitness but the Spain coach, who will name his 23-man squad on Sunday, has now confirmed the striker will not be heading to Poland and Ukraine.
A Spanish Football Federation statement said: “David Villa spoke with Del Bosque, who relayed that although it was Villa’s wish to be with the team in Poland and Ukraine, that his physical state was ‘not as good’ as would be desirable.”
Villa’s goals were crucial for Spain in their Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 successes. The former Valencia man was the top scorer in 2008 and joint top scorer in 2010, narrowly missing out on the golden boot to Germany’s Thomas Muller, who had more assists.
It remains to be seen if Spain can be as dominant as they have been in recent years without Villa’s goals, but they have plenty of quality in other areas and other forwards who could step up and shoulder the goal scoring responsibility.
Chelsea’s Fernando Torres had been considered a doubt for selection after a disappointing campaign at Stamford Bridge but Del Bosque could hand the former Atletico Madrid frontman a place in his 23-man squad with Villa unavailable. Torres appeared to be recapturing his form towards the end of the season and could view an international competition as a chance to re-establish himself as one of the most feared marksmen in the world.
Torres’ lack of action at club level could be of benefit to Spain, as he will not be suffering the same kind of fatigue other players who have played regularly over the season will be feeling and the Chelsea man can be backed at 20/1 to be the top scorer at Euro 2012.
Another man who could step up and fill the void left by Villa is Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Lorente, who has seven goals in 20 caps to date and impressed for Bilbao this season as they reached the Europa League final. Lorente, who is 16/1 to be the top scorer at Euro 2012, is a different type of forward to Villa and Spain may have to adapt their style to get the best out of the Bilbao star, but he is certainly a world class striker who is more than capable of firing Spain to glory at Euro 2012.
Other options include Barcelona’s Pedro, Atletico Madrid’s Adrian and Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, who has enjoyed a fantastic campaign at the Mestalla and has three goals in three Spanish caps to date.
Adrian is yet to receive a call up for the Spain squad, having represented them at youth level, but he has been included in the squad for their friendly fixtures against Serbia and South Korea ahead of Euro 2012, as has Soldado, Torres and Sevilla’s Álvaro Negredo, who has five goals in seven caps to date.
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