Madrid, May 12 (IANS) Spain coach Luis de la Fuente on Tuesday expressed confidence that winger Nico Williams would recover in time for the World Cup finals despite suffering a hamstring injury at the weekend. Williams had to be helped off the pitch during the first half of Athletic Club’s 1-0 home defeat to Valencia on Sunday, with tests on Monday confirming a moderate injury to his left hamstring.

The injury rules the 23-year-old out for the remainder of Athletic’s domestic season, but speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, De la Fuente said Williams should still be fit in time for the World Cup.

“We have been fortunate that Nico’s injury is a grade one strain and should be recoverable in three or four weeks if there are no setbacks,” De la Fuente said.

Williams, who has scored six goals in 30 appearances for Spain, is expected to be available when Spain opens its World Cup campaign against Cape Verde on June 15, reports Xinhua.

De la Fuente added that even if Williams were unable to feature in the opening game, he should still be available later in the tournament. “If he can’t play in the first match, then he will for the second or third,” he said.

The coach, who led Spain to the UEFA Euro 2024 title, will announce his preliminary squad on May 22. However, with the deadline for FIFA squad submissions not until June 2, he said he plans to initially call up a larger group of players. “We will bring in more players to help us complete the preparation match on June 4 against Iraq in A Coruna,” he explained.

De la Fuente also admitted concern over the possibility of further injuries before the Spanish domestic season concludes on May 24. “I worry about my players’ fitness. This period is critical because any minor injury is difficult to recover from before the World Cup,” he said. “We hope there won’t be any more injuries; we’re constantly crossing our fingers.”

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played from June 11 to July 19 and will be jointly-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

–IANS

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