It had been the great surprise of both the initial list and the final list of 23 players, but finally Salma Paralluelo will not play the European Championship with Spain, which begins in England on July 6 due to a soleus injury. The Villarreal striker, who made her debut with the national team, will be replaced by Teresa Abelleira, from Real Madrid.
Paralluelo, who combines football with athletics, had suffered from physical discomfort for a long time, although the coach, Jorge Vilda, hoped to recover his pupil before the first game of the Spanish against Finland next Friday, July 8. This past Tuesday he was scheduled to exercise with the group.
"Salma has entered the group very well. She has shown us that she can perform very well against central defenders of the level of Paredes or Mapi. Not only does she have an imposing physique, but also great technical quality," Vilda said before learning of a new physical setback for the team that joins that of Jenni Hermoso, Spain's all-time top scorer (45 goals), off the list due to a knee injury.
In a statement issued by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Paralluelo is indicated that "the evolution of the injury was not as expected", initially an edema in the right calf, but finally, after more medical tests, it was has detected a "masked soleus muscle" ailment that prevents their participation.
In this way, it leaves a gap occupied by Teresa Abelleira, a Madrid midfielder who had been included in the initial list and later discarded from the final list, as well as Ainhoa Vicente Moraza (Athletic Club), Amaiur Sarriegi (Real Sociedad), Nerea Eizagirre (Real Society) and Claudia Zornoza (Real Madrid).
Spain thrashed Australia 7-0 in the first warm-up friendly for the European Championship played at the Nuevo Colombino stadium in Huelva and will continue its set-up this Friday with the match against Italy at the Teofilo Patini stadium in Castel di Sangro.
