In addition to rumors Cazorla is hunted by Madrid, the injury news is only making things worse in Vila-Real. It seems our boy Rossi (the only one likely to score, as of late), is out 2-3 weeks with an ankle sprain.
There is some positive news. Cygan is training again, and the only individuals likely to miss this weekend's matchup with Osasuna, other than Rossi, are Nihat, Pires, and Viera. Gonzalo has had an issue with his knee, but is expected to be ready for Sunday.
Also, in another blow to Villarreal's early-season hopes, a number of players have been called up for World Cup qualifiers, and Rossi has for the U-21 Euro Championship qualifying:
Selection Argentina.
Gonzalo Rodriguez
Matches: 06/09 - Argentina - Paraguay (Buenos Aires)
10/09 - Peru - Argentina (Lima)Selection Uruguayan.
Diego Godin and Sebastian Eguren
Matches: 06/09 - Colombia - Uruguay (Bogota)
10/09 - Uruguay - Ecuador (Montevideo)Selection Chilean.
Matias Fernandez
Matches: 06/09 - Chile - Brazil (Santiago)
10/09 - Chile - Colombia (Santiago)Selection Mexicana.
Guillermo Franco
Matches: 06/09 - Jamaica - Mexico (Kingston)
10/09 - Mexico - Canada (Chiapas)Selection USA.
Jozy Altidore
Matches: 06/09 - Cuba - U.S. (Havana)
10/09 - USA - Trinidad & TobagoSelection Italian Sub-21.
Giuseppe Rossi
Matches: 05/09 - Italy - Greece (Castel di Sangro)
09/09 - Croatia - Italy (Varazdin)
And, not that call-ups are bad, but as we demonstrated this preseason, without our internationals, we are toast. One change to this list might be that Rossi could be held out, based on his ankle sprain.
The only good news (and this is kind of big), is that Nihat is expected to be ready mid-September, as opposed to mid-October, as the team doctors had previously predicted. So, he and Rossi will be returning about the same time, which could be desparately needed by that point.