Spain midfielder Fermin Lopez is expected to miss the World Cup because of a foot fracture he suffered while playing for Barcelona.
Barcelona’s Lopez fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during the 3-1 win against Real Betis on Sunday.
The Spanish champions announced that Lopez will have surgery but did not give a timeframe for his return.
The 23-year-old has seven Spain caps and would probably have been called up by national team coach Luis de la Fuente for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
De la Fuente will announce his squad on Monday, 25 May. Spain begin their campaign against Cape Verde on Monday, 15 June in Atlanta (17:00 BST), and will also face Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H.
Fifth metatarsal fractures often keep footballers out for two to three months.
Manchester United and Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez had surgery on a fractured fifth metatarsal in April 2023 and missed the rest of that season, returning to action at the start of the following campaign before aggravating the same injury in September of the same year.
Lopez has become a regular for Barcelona over the past two seasons, helping the Catalans win back-to-back La Liga titles.
The midfielder scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions this season despite twice suffering groin injuries.
The World Cup would have been Lopez’s second major international tournament after he featured for 28 minutes of Spain’s successful Euro 2024 campaign.
