Concern surrounding the wellbeing of a key member of the defensive setup at Villarreal has come to the fore online.
This comes amid confirmation that Raúl Albiol was a notable absentee from the Yellow Submarines’ latest round of training sessions on Thursday.
Stopper Albiol, for his part, has played a pivotal role for Villarreal across the season to date, featuring from the off in 20 of the club’s 26 La Liga outings.
As per a report from Estadio Deportivo, however, the veteran defender’s status for the upcoming round of fixtures in Spain’s top-flight has been thrown up in the air.
Though it is not out of the question that Albiol was afforded a rest on Thursday ahead of two important fixtures in the space of the coming week, it is also entirely possible that the 38-year-old was forced to sit out training, through injury.
Villarreal will mark their return to action on Sunday afternoon, when they welcome relegation-battling Granada to the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Whether Albiol goes on to play any part in proceedings, though, remains to be seen…
Conor Laird | GSFN
