This Albiol situation keeps getting curiouser & curiouser.

According to AS, he was injured during the morning recovery session. An RFEF statement was released & said that Albiol suffered facial trauma & tests would follow to determine the extent of injury. However, AS reports that the team hadn’t planned on a morning session.

Training was officially scheduled for 18h. By the time the 2nd session came around, Raúl had already left. A 2nd official report was issued at 13:41 & confirmed that Raúl had a small cheekbone fracture & had left Las Rozas. 

Three written & oral requests for the name of the player who collided with Albiol went unanswered. Only through separate sources did AS confirm that Sergio Busquets was the teammate involved. 

The newspaper consulted medical professionals who basically said this type of injury is not what you’d expect in a recovery session, as the intensity level isn’t as high. They were practicing rondos, where players are spread out about a meter to a meter & a half apart. Those who were consulted did admit that there is risk of injury in rondos because there is contact involved. 

The RFEF never mentioned in their official statements how Raúl was injured. Was is it a head butt, a result from a collision, did he take a hit, or was it an elbow? All of which are the most common ways to fracture a cheekbone, according to a doctor who has been in the profession for 17 years with one of the bigger teams in the league.

Photo credit: Cuatro