Left back for Spain The team confirmed on Friday that Jose Gaya has been cut from their World Cup roster for Qatar due to an ankle injury sustained in practise.
Injured Spanish defender Jose Gaya will miss the World Cup; Balde is called up
According to the statement, Gaya trained on his right ankle on Wednesday in Amman, Jordan, and sustained a low-grade lateral sprain. He will fly back to Spain later on Friday.
Six days before they play Costa Rica in their World Cup opener, Spain defeated Jordan 3-1 in a friendly warm-up game on Thursday. In Group E, Germany and Japan are scheduled to meet Luis Enrique’s team.
Gaya will be replaced in the team for the 2010 world champions by 19-year-old Alejandro Balde, who has been given his first senior call-up.
Spanish professional footballer José Luis Gayà Pea plays left back for Valencia in La Liga, where he serves as captain, and the Spain national team.
Gayà, a Valencia academy product, made his senior debut in 2012 and went on to compete in more than 300 matches for the team, winning the Copa del Rey in 2019.
After being chosen for Euro 2020, Gayà played his first complete game with the Spanish national team in 2018.
Spanish-born left-back Alejandro Balde Martnez represents FC Barcelona in professional football.
Balde joined FC Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after rising through the ranks at RCD Espanyol. He was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Guinean father and a Dominican mother. He renewed his agreement with Barcelona in July 2021, extending it until 2024, with a 500 million euro release clause.
In the 74th minute of Barcelona’s 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League on September 14, 2021, he made his first-team debut for the club, taking Alba’s place.