Villa to sit out Madrid thriller
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Article summary
David Villa has been ruled out of Valencia CF's showdown with Real Madrid CF on Sunday, but can be satisfied that UEFA Champions League qualification is secure.
Article body
David Villa has been ruled out of Valencia CF’s encounter with Real Madrid CF on Sunday with a thigh injury.
Small tear
The Spain striker, who has three goals in five UEFA Champions League matches this season, underwent tests on Thursday morning after limping out in the 21st minute of last night's 2-0 victory against Olympiacos CFP. The club's medical team discovered a small tear and, in ruling the player out for at least a fortnight, have put the player on a course of physiotherapy.
Birthday
As well as missing the match against Madrid, Villa is also likely to be sidelined for Valencia’s trip to RC Recreativo de Huelva which falls on 3 December, the date of his 25th birthday. He is also unlikely to figure in the Matchday 6 trip to AS Roma two days later, although with Valencia having already secured Group D's top spot, changes were likely anyway. Valencia are eighth in Spain, five points and five places behind Madrid.
