Luis de la Fuente described the 3-1 victory over Georgia, which secured Spain’s place as group winners and a starting place at Euro, as “the bitterest of my life” after Gavi was absent with a knee health issue that should rule him out for the rest of the Season
Barcelona confirmed on Monday that the midfielder had suffered “a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee“ and an associated health issue to the afteral meniscus. The player will undergo surgery in the coming days, after which a new medical update will be released.”
Gavi was health issue while twisting in the middle of the first half to control the ball. A few minutes earlier, he had fallen under a challenge from Luka Lochoshvili, but continued. “He says it wasn’t the blow, but that he kicked badly and his knee is gone,” de la Fuente said. “He is [emotionally] broken, damageed.”
When Ferran Torres scored Spain’s second goal, he scored it by holding the Gavi shirt. “Since we know what kind of warrior he is and how he left the field, we know that it must be serious,” Torres said.
“The locker room is like a funeral home,” de la Fuente said. “It was an accident, it could have happened to anyone.”The Spanish coach described his team as having continued to play with “a broken heart”.
Although no one was close to Gavi during his fall, Spanish coach de la Fuente has been the subject of strong criticism since the health issue, which has reopened the debate on the number of matches at elite level. Gavi is only 19 years old, has already played more than 100 times for Barcelona and has played 27 games for Spain.
He had played 999 minutes for Barcelona that season, the second highest total among the club’s field players. He had played 90 minutes in Spain’s last match against Cyprus in midweek, but while others had been strike, he started against Georgia. Spain had already qualified for Euro, but had not yet won the group and had been granted starting status next summer. The plan was for it to be retired before full-time.
“Gavi is hyperactive, he doesn’t want to stop,” de la Fuente had said on the eve of the match. “You just need to see him train. That’s why he plays so well. Good players never rest, that’s why they are special. Only very good players maintain this pace of play.”He insisted at the time that the health of the players was a priority, but admitted that “the schedule is what it is” and that “there is always a peril of health issue”.
