Overcome the five weeks reserved for the pre-season, fantasy ground as defined Ernest Valverde a period of time ultimately used to prepare the footballers’ legs for the start of the competition, the Athletic got to work this Monday with the mission of conscientiously preparing for the league debut against Mallorca in San Mamés. He did so in the first of six scheduled training sessions over the course of a week that began with news from Lezama’s infirmary. apart Julen Agirrezabala, weak confirmed for the first day of La Liga after having been operated on July 28 for a fracture of a finger of the right hand, five other players appeared in the medical report and only one of them, Yeray Álvarez, was able to join the group thus making himself available to the coach with a view to starting the season on the pitch.
Unai Simón, Iñigo Martínez, Mikel Balenziaga and Raúl García, meanwhile, missed the session and they continue while waiting for the evolution, thus keeping the unknown as to the possibility of seeing them dressed in shorts at the beginning of the coming year. In the case of Simón, without minutes in pre-season friendlies due to the supraspinatus tendinopathy he suffers from in his right shoulder, it would be a maximum of half a dozen sessions that he could accumulate before to embark on the competition, a complex situation and a certain risk which places irremediably in the spotlight Ander Irouthe lcalled to cover your sick leave should it ultimately become necessary.
In the center of defense,at Yeray’s availability after the fear Euskal Herria Tchapela final against Real Sociedad relieves Valverde. With Iñigo Martínez out of squad one more day due to slight discomfort in patellar tendon in left knee that they weren’t due to rule him out on his league debut but have kept him out since the move to Newcastle on July 30, the composition of the centre-back pairing has emerged as a tricky question given Aitor Paredes’ lack of experience in the top flight and the gray A match completed as centre-backs in the last summer test against Alavés by two other alternatives such as Peru’s Nolaskoain and Dani García.
Good condition of Yerayrecovered from the muscle injury he suffered in the rotator cuff of his right hip last Friday, allows Valverde to prepare for the week with at least two specific centre-backs of the first team under conditions taking into account the physical guarantees projected by Dani Vivian. On the left wing, meanwhileBalenziaga is still unable to work with the group following the slight sprain he suffered against Newcastle in the middle of the tarsus of his right ankle. Youri Berchiche however showed during the derby against Real that he had recovered from a sprained ankle. he had at the start of pre-season, which also gives the coach some air while waiting for the physical progress of Raul Garcia to arm the attack front.
Navarre, victim of a soleus injury to his right leg during the intense and eventful summer derby played in Lasesarre, is the one who has the most complicated time against Mallorca with Simón. In training this Monday, as planned, there was no trace of 22 athletics, whom Valverde used as a centre-forward against the txuri-urdin team, relegating Iñaki Williams to the right side. If the first official meeting of the course is not reached, Villalibre or Nico Williams will attack a starting lineup yet to be defined.
THE RIGHT BANNER
tooIt remains to be seen who occupies the right lane, where De Marcoswho trained this Monday in the red and white facilities, part with an advantage over Iñigo Lekue and Ander Capa. Laguardia’s availability will mark his presumptive ownership against Mallorca in a game that Valverde is already preparing carefully at Lezama.