Madrid (Spain): Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal has been forced to pull out of the Spanish national team squad for the Euro 2024 Qualifiers after suffering an injury to his left hamstring on Thursday night.
The forward went down in the 37th minute of Spain’s 3-1 win away to Cyprus, after scoring Spain’s second goal of the night and assisting Joselu to net the third from a corner.
Minutes later, Oyarzabal stretched for a cross from Joselu and stayed down. Holding the back of his left leg, he gestured to the dugout and punched the ground in frustration, reports Xinhua.
He was helped from the pitch and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente confirmed after the game that Oyarzabal would leave the squad to return to his club for treatment.
The injury comes with Oyarzabal back to his best form after suffering a serious cruciate knee ligament injury at the start of 2022, which caused him to miss the World Cup in Qatar.
“It’s a torn muscle,” said De la Fuente in his post-game press conference, while ruling out further knee problems, but a torn hamstring could still sideline the forward for a period of between one month and six weeks.
Oyarzabal has scored seven goals in La Liga and two in the UEFA Champions League as his side has already booked its place in the last-16 of the Champions League.
–IANS