David Villa fractured his left tibia shortly before half-time in the Fifa Club World Cup semi-final against Al Sadd in Yokohama, Japan today.
Villa, who had been linked with a move to away from the Nou Camp in January, was carried off on a stretcher after appearing to land awkwardly 39 minutes into a game Barcelona were winning 1-0.
“Bad news for David Villa and Barca; the striker’s left tibia is fractured,” Barcelona said on their Twitter feed. “The player has been taken to the Yokohama Rosa hospital for further tests.”
Big blow not just for Barcelona, but for Spain also and Villa’s participation at Euro 2012 this summer has to be in serious doubt. Spain begin the defence of their Euro crown against Italy on 10 June.
He is Spain’s all-time leading scorer with 50 goals in 81 games and played a key role in their World Cup triumph in South Africa last summer.
It will be interesting to see whether Villa’s injury forces Barca into the transfer market in January, or whether Pep Guardiola will stick with Messi, Pedro and Alexis for the rest of the season.
Barca don’t usually buy in January, but without Villa, that attacking trio suddenly looks a little light, and another serious injury could really hurt Barca’s chances to regain the Champions Leahue and La Liga trophies.
