Rioja nets Valencia winner at Mendizorroza, first points of season, then suffers foot blow | OneFootball

Rioja struck the winner for Valencia at Mendizorroza, securing their first three points of the season. He declined to celebrate against his former club and was named player of the match.

The winger featured for only 15 minutes. According to AS, he had missed the previous two matches with plantar fasciitis. He came on in the 63rd minute, then went off on 78, shortly after scoring, in clear pain in the sole of his foot.

He was visibly shaken by the setback on the bench. He called it a difficult injury and said the sole is torn, noting that training had been manageable but one heavy step set him back. He added he will not play on Sunday against Real Sociedad and will return after the international break.

Rioja said he pushed to be involved because he viewed this as one of the most important matches of the season, despite it being the sixth round.

He admitted he has not started well and believes this victory has to be the start of a better campaign. He said it should give the team confidence and morale to change course.

Source: AS

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”