Spain start Euro bid without injured star Putellas

Spain’s hopes of winning a maiden European Championship title have been dealt a major blow with the news of star player Alexia Putellas’ knee injury.

The Barcelona star has torn her anterior cruciate ligaments in training in what is a serious loss to the Spaniards and the tournament as a whole.

Putellas won the Ballon D’or in 2021 and many were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to watch her in the flesh with the tournament being held in England.

It always feels cruel when fans are robbed of seeing the best players perform at these major championships but nothing will compare to the anguish Putellas must be feeling right now as she faces watching on from the sidelines.

Putellas was the top goalscorer in the Champions League last season as Barcelona reached the final while she also propelled her side to a third straight league title. With 27 goals for her country already, her loss will be keenly felt.

Jennifer Hermoso, who finished third in the aforementioned Ballon D’or voting, is also out injured leaving the Spaniards without some serious star quality ahead of Friday’s opener against Finland.

The Group B clash in Milton Keynes will see Spain set off in their attempts to translate their huge strides at club level to the international scene.

A semi-final appearance would be only the second time they’ve ever reached that stage of a major tournament and expectations will be high that it will be the minimum that the side achieve.

Finland return to major championship action after failing to qualify in 2017 and will be hoping to cause an upset and record a first ever competitive win against La Roja.

Spain know they need to get off to a good start with games against the more fancied Germany and Denmark to come.

Failure to beat Finland, coupled with the loss of Putellas, could see the Spaniards chances over before they’ve really got started.

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