Madrid, Oct 5 (IANS) The ongoing international break continues to cause problems for La Liga clubs, with another player from a Spanish side suffering an injury while on international duty.
Deportivo Alaves has reported that Finnish international defender Ville Koski has suffered a muscle injury that is likely to rule him out of Saturday’s La Liga match at home to Atletico Madrid.
“The player has suffered a muscle injury and will return to Vitoria-Gasteiz in the coming hours,” informs the Alaves website.
The news is a blow for Alaves coach Quique Sanchez Flores, who has included the 24-year-old in all seven of his team’s La Liga matches so far this season. Koski has been an important part of Alaves’s positive start, which has left the club sixth in the table after conceding just five goals.
Koski is one of several players to have suffered injuries during the new-format international break, which sees players leave their clubs for an intense spell of four international matches in just over two weeks.
Atletico Madrid defender Alex Grimaldo had to withdraw from the Spain squad with a physical problem, while FC Barcelona duo Eric Garcia and Raphinha both returned to their club early. Kylian Mbappe suffered a knee problem while with France, and Nico Williams injured a hamstring that is likely to rule him out of Athletic Bilbao’s weekend visit to Rayo Vallecano.
Mbappe has yet to return to Madrid and drew criticism from some Real Madrid fans over the weekend after posting a video of himself riding a bicycle and running on a treadmill. He is also a doubt for next weekend’s home match against Villarreal.
–IANS
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