Samuel Chukwueze will not be in action for injury ravaged Villarreal in the build up to Wednesday night’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Chelsea.
Chukwueze is continuing rehabilitation following a muscular injury and is expected to miss the one-legged tie in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Super Eagles winger picked up the injury in last season’s Europa League second-leg semi-final at Arsenal.
He also missed the final against Manchester United which Villarreal won via penalty shootout.
A second major trophy is on offer for Villarreal having broken their long wait for a first with their Europa League success last season.
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But Unai Emery‘s men have not been helped with an injury crisis during pre-season which, at one point, saw them lose 12 players across positive coronavirus tests and injuries.
And ahead of the final on Wednesday night, they remain without a host of players, setting them up for a huge task against Champions League holders Chelsea.
Key midfielder Dani Parejo remains out with injury, as does another midfield option in Francis Coquelin.
Though, there is some good news in midfield with the possible returns of Vicente Iborra and Etienne Capoue from respective injuries.
Both players returned to training on Monday ahead of travelling this morning (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, Juan Foyth, who starred at right-back towards the end of last season but has had to fill in at the defensive midfield position during pre-season, suffered a late injury blow during Monday’s session.
He will be assessed to see whether there is a chance he can play in Wednesday’s final.
Hero of the Europa League final, Geronimo Rulli, is set to miss out, with La Liga starter Sergio Asenjo nailed on to start in goal.
With those injuries in mind, the midfield could be a big issue for Villarreal, especially going up against N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, but there are reinforcements in attack.
New signing Boulaye Dia looks set to be available after recovering from a spell out, as does Paco Alcacer, who returned to the group last week.
Both players look set to join the recovered Moi Gomez to contend for a starting spot in the front three alongside star striker Gerard Moreno, who signed a new six-year deal with the club on Monday.
And Pau Torres will continue his long season by playing in the final just days after the Olympics final in Tokyo.
