Rodri and Carvajal return to the Spain squad after injury recovery | OneFootball

After recovering from serious knee injuries, Rodri and Dani Carvajal return to the Spanish National Team for the first two matches of the European Qualifiers for the World Cup at the beginning of September, coach Luis de la Fuente announced this Friday.

Spain will visit Bulgaria on September 4 and Turkey three days later, in the first matches of Group E of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, which will take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The other team in the group is Georgia.

The big news is the call-up of the current Ballon d'Or winner and the Real Madrid defender. Both missed almost the entire last season due to knee injuries and have only recently returned to action for their clubs.

“The most important news is that they are back with us. With passion and contributing a lot. They are our captains and the best in the world in their positions. We celebrate their return and they will contribute a lot,” highlighted De la Fuente in a press conference.

“I spoke with them, they are doing very well and they know the role they will play. They will be vital for us. I had no doubts about their presence and that they would be one of us,” he added.

Rodri was one of the leaders who led ‘La Roja’ to win the 2024 Euro Cup, and also received the prestigious award for best player of that year.

However, last September, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in a Manchester City match against Arsenal and only returned to play at the Club World Cup in July.

In that tournament, he again injured his groin during the English team's 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the round of 16, and only returned to the field last week.

Carvajal, on the other hand, tore the anterior and lateral cruciate ligaments, as well as the tendon, in his right knee during a match against Villarreal in October. He also returned to play at the Club World Cup.

Ferran Torres, the Barcelona forward who missed the Nations League final in June after undergoing appendicitis surgery, has also been called up again.

Without Joan García

The rest of the squad is the usual and is led by Lamine Yamal.

With the absences in attack of Álex Baena, Samu Aghehowa, Isco, and Ayoze Pérez, all starters in recent squads, De la Fuente has also called up the young winger Jesús Rodríguez (19 years old), who was developed at Betis and transferred this European summer to Como, in Italy.

“Last year, we followed him, as well as others, from the U-21, and it was the right time (…) There is an exceptional squad. We have three or four world-class players,” emphasized the coach.

Despite some reports in the press that De la Fuente would call up Joan García, Barcelona's new goalkeeper is not on the list, and the coach continues to rely on his usual goalkeepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, and Álex Remiro.

“He could have been there, but not because he plays for Barça. We don’t choose based on clubs, they are players for the Spanish national team (…) Joan’s time will come. He is a great goalkeeper,” explained the coach.

See Spain’s squad list for the Qualifiers

Goalkeepers: Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Álex Remiro (Real Sociedad)

Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Dean Huijsen (both from Real Madrid), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona), Robin Le Normand (Atlético Madrid), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Martín Zubimendi (Arsenal), Rodrigo (Manchester City), Gavi, Fermín Lopez, Pedri González, Dani Olmo (all from Barcelona), Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Fabián Ruiz (PSG)

Forwards: Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres (both from Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Yeremy Pino (Villarreal), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Álvaro Morata and Jesús Rodríguez (both from Como)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.