Spain’s European Title hopes have taken a major hit after Alexia Putellas was ruled out of the competition with an injury on the eve of the tournament.
The reigning Ballon d’Or winner who captains Barcelona and the Spanish national team tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) with the Spanish football federation confirming the news of her injury.
“The tests carried out on the Spanish international … have confirmed that the captain of the Spanish Women’s National Team suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee,” RFEF said in a statement.
The absence of Alexia Putellas, who is at the heart of the Spanish attack, complicates things for Spain who are grouped with eight-time champions Germany, 2017 runner-up Denmark and Finland.
Alexia is coming off another impressive season in which she won the Ballon d’Or Féminin at the end of 2021 after helping Barcelona to its first UEFA Women’s Champions League title in 2020–21.
Last month, the Spanish captain became the first women’s player to reach 100 appearances for the national team.
She was also the lynchpin for Barcelona last season and led them to another Primera División and Copa de la Reina title and took the club back to the Champions League final, where the defending champions lost to Lyon.
She also led the Champions League in scoring and took home The Best FIFA Women’s Player award.
The Spanish national team enters the Women’s Euros ranked as the No. 7 team in the world, their highest ranking ever, and Faces Finland in their first match.
The Women’s Euros begin tomorrow (12:00 AM PST) with hosts England facing Austria at Old Trafford.
