Athletic Club hit by triple injury blow ahead of crucial Atalanta clash
Nico Williams, Yuri Berchiche and Berenguer all missing for must-win Champions League fixture as Valverde turns to youth to fill the gaps in Bergamo.
Athletic Club’s European ambitions face a stern test as they travel to Bergamo with a severely depleted squad.
Injury crisis deepens for Valverde
The Bilbao outfit trained at Lezama on Tuesday before jetting off to Italy, but they’ll be without several key players for what’s shaping up to be a proper banana skin fixture against Atalanta. The situation’s gone from bad to worse for Ernesto Valverde, who was already missing Iñaki Williams since Sunday, but now must cope without his brother Nico and left-back Yuri Berchiche (both with muscle overloads) plus Alex Berenguer, who’s struggling with a foot problem.
It’s absolutely crucial that Athletic take all three points if they want to keep their European dreams alive. The Basque side need a win to maintain any realistic chance of progressing to the knockout stage, while their Italian hosts are chasing points that would secure direct qualification to the round of 16.
Youth gets its chance
With his squad down to the bare bones, Valverde has been forced to call up five players from the B team:
- Ibon Sánchez
- Hierro
- De Luis
- Adrián
- Mikel Santos
They’ll join Rego and Selton, who despite technically being B-team players, have become regulars in the first-team setup this season.
Laporte still sidelined
There’s still no place in the squad for Aymeric Laporte, who’s been out since early December with a complex muscle injury. The centre-back has been pushing hard to make himself available, but this fixture has come too soon in his recovery process. His participation even in the final group game against Sporting Lisbon remains uncertain, with that match or the subsequent derby against Real Sociedad potentially marking his return to action.
New plane gets maiden voyage
On a lighter note, the trip to Bergamo will mark the debut of Athletic’s official plane for this season, part of their sponsorship agreement with Vueling. The aircraft has been decorated in Athletic’s colours, featuring images of several players on the fuselage and red-and-white details throughout the interior. The plane’s design has been refreshed for this campaign and will receive its official christening on the runway at Loiu with a photo featuring the entire squad.