Nico Williams suffers adductor injury and criticises De La Cruz challenge | OneFootball

Nico Williams has sustained an adductor injury to his right leg and will remain with Spain’s World Cup squad. The Spanish federation confirmed the issue followed a challenge against Uruguay, and he is expected to miss the second phase, set to be against Austria or Algeria.

The forward was caught from behind by Flamengo midfielder Nico De la Cruz as he broke on a counter, late in stoppage time. Spain were already ahead, Uruguay went out with the result, and the flare-up was quickly calmed by officials and players. De la Cruz was booked.

Williams criticised the conduct, saying the incident brought on a new injury and that a fellow professional acted out of frustration, discontent and sadness at his situation. He felt the challenge could have been avoided and was completely unnecessary.

The setback comes after a gruelling year in which he suffered five muscle injuries, missing about 20 matches for Athletic Bilbao.

He described one and a half years of pain, uncertainty and anxiety, struggling even with everyday tasks, but said that while pubalgia won many battles, it did not win the war.

His World Cup place had been in doubt, yet Luis de la Fuente kept faith and managed his minutes in the group stage. Williams came on in all three matches, each time in the second half.

Source: Globo.com