Ayoze Pérez’s toughest Villarreal season as injuries mount and February layoff looms | OneFootball

Ayoze Pérez’s second season in yellow has been derailed by injuries. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, he fell in training before the trip to Leverkusen and, with the club yet to issue a medical update, could be sidelined for all of February.

The BayArena fixture was the ninth official game he has missed this season across LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Back on the treatment table, he will not be available to Marcelino García in the coming weeks.

Of the first eight league rounds, he sat out seven. He reappeared on matchday seven, playing minutes at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano after going unused against Oviedo, Girona and Celta.

He then missed Osasuna, Sevilla and Athletic Club at the Bernabéu, and he did not play the only Champions League tie Villarreal have not lost, Juventus.

So far he has logged 1,001 minutes, 540 in LaLiga with 13 appearances, two goals and three assists, 273 in the Champions League without scoring or assisting, and 188 in three Copa ties with two more goals and one assist.

Last season, 2024/2025, he scored 19 LaLiga goals to win the Zarra. Recurring muscular issues, including the posterior fascia of the rectus femoris and some during national-team camps, have forced caution. For Pamplona, absences mirror Leverkusen, Pau Cabanes, Willy Kambwala, Logan Costa, Juan Foyth and Ayoze, with Alfon González to be assessed after a soleus problem at Sevilla.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo