After being evaluated by the national team's medical services, Irene Paredes will remain in the Spanish camp, while Alexia Putellas will be able to return to Barcelona to continue her recovery. The Spanish internationals were scheduled this morning in Las Rozas (Madrid) to begin the last training camp of the year, in which they will face Italy and Sweden with a place in the Nations League semi-finals at stake.
Montse Tomé included both players on her list for the last international break of the year, despite being out and having played several games without being called up for FC Barcelona. “They are two special cases,” she acknowledged the day she announced those summoned. "On Monday we will see them, we will assess her condition and we will make the decisions we have to make, always ensuring the player's health and without forcing anything," she said.
Alexia Putellas suffered a blow in the first Champions League match against Benfica. Since then he has not played again and is training on the sidelines recovering from this discomfort in his left knee. At Barça they don't want to take any risks with the captain, as it is the same knee that was operated on last year when he tore his cruciate ligaments. For this reason, FC Barcelona and the Federation have agreed that he return to Barcelona to take advantage of these fifteen days to finish recovering.
Despite the voices that had suggested that there was discomfort at FC Barcelona over Alexia being called up while injured, the truth is that there has been a clear rapprochement between the Federation and the Catalan club, working together to make the final decision. A cordiality that coincides with this new stage that is beginning in the Federation since the departure of Rubiales and Jorge Vilda, with the entry of Markel Zubizarreta into the federative structure.
It was already known that the Blaugrana would return to Barcelona, but Alexia wanted to be in Las Rozas today on an important day for the group, acting as captain on the day her teammates met Markel Zubizarreta.
FC Barcelona has even explained on its social networks that this decision has been made jointly: "Alexia Putellas leaves the Spanish national team camp and will continue with the process of recovery from her knee discomfort in Barcelona. This has been agreed upon. "FC Barcelona and the Spanish Federation. Irene Paredes and Cata Coll will continue in the concentration."
For her part, Irene Paredes was sidelined due to tonsillitis in the run-up to the game against Benfica and has already missed four games with Barça in addition to not having trained with the group for two weeks. After the evaluation with the medical services, they have decided that the Basque center will remain in the concentration to gradually join the group.
At Barça they hope to take advantage of this national team break to recover some troops after the plague of injuries that has accumulated in recent weeks. In addition to Paredes and Alexia, Giráldez has also lost Mapi León (cervical pain) and Oshoala (hamstring discomfort), who join the already known losses of Rolfö, Bruna Vilamala and Jana Fernàndez.
The internationals exercised this afternoon in Las Rozas in an open-door session in which there was also a solidarity collection of gifts for the Christmas holidays. This Friday (9:30 p.m.) Spain faces Italy in Pontevedra, where it could seal its place in the semifinals of the Nations League in which two tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are distributed.
This Monday's day also served as a reunion for the Barça footballers with Markel Zubizarreta, who has recently assumed the sports direction of the women's team in the Spanish Federation. The architect of the best Barça in history was present in Las Rozas this morning to welcome the internationals, introduce himself to those who did not know him and talk with the FC Barcelona internationals, such as Alexia Putellas.
