In terrible news for our burgeoning strike force, Joseba Llorente is out four weeks. He pulled a leg muscle in the draw at Malaga on Sunday, and is not expected to be back for a month. With Nihat still out, this only means one/two thing/s. 1) Jozy Altidore will play more, and if he does, 2) Jozy won't be loaned out. With vital Champions League clashes coming up, this is going to put tremendous pressure on Rossi to step up, and Franco too, for that matter. It could also mean seeing a lot more of Mati and Ibagaza taking turns as a withdrawn striker to provide some depth. Either way, it is a huge blow, as Llorente was on the verge of a tremendous season. At the rate he is going, he would have hit close to 25 goals in the league, and eventually that would have to translate to some consistency in the Champions League. Holding on to second spot is going to be that much harder now.
The good news is that Eguren is recovering well, and he has pulled out of the midweek match with Uruguay to fully be better before the weekend's matchup with Valladolid.
On an unrelated note, El Madrigal will have a shining moment in the sun on Wednesday, as it plays host to a Spain-Chile matchup. Perhaps Mati can realize some of his Chilean brilliance at the El Madrigal pitch on the international stage, thrusting him into his ever-calling greatness for the Yellow Submarine? It will be great to see him go up against the likes of Senna, Cazorla and Capdevila, who are sure to all get the start in front of the home fans.