Leganés lives anchored in a defensive drama for his ‘Big Week’, as the cucumber club itself has dubbed the next two matches against the Real Sociedad in Cup (Wednesday, January 5, 4:00 p.m.) and the subsidiary Txuri-Urdin in Liga (Saturday, January 8, 9:00 p.m.) in a play on words linked to the Semana Grande de San Sebastián. Two intense matches for which it remains to be seen which defenders he can use Mehdi Nafti between physical problems and problems related to COVID, in addition to the case Omeruo.
Omeruo, already with Nigeria
Leganés obtained a permit for the center-back to be available for the match that Leganés played yesterday against Valladolid in Pucela and, later, he joined the Nigerian expedition that will play the Africa Cup in Cameroon. Bad luck meant that the footballer was one of the six positive for COVID detected last week in the blue and white team. Today, after testing negative for antigens and PCR, he has obtained permission to leave behind the 10-day quarantine that he had to maintain. The defender has already joined his national team.
Omeruo will be, at least, low for these two games against Real and Real B. If Nigeria reaches the final, it would miss another five league games. His discharge adds problems to a defense in which Rodri Tarín and Bruno also tested positive. Their symptoms and results in the tests that are carried out will depend on whether they can be for Wednesday’s duel against the Real. To this we must add that the only born central defender left to Nafti suffered discomfort that prevented him from playing against him Valladolid.
Four defenses in Pucela
If these three absences remain, the coach would have only four first-team defenders. Namely: Palencia, Bustinza, Javi Hernández and Quintillà. The three formed from the beginning before Valladolid. So much unforeseen was noted in the problems suffered by the Leganes in the rear, especially in balls leaked to the back of the sides.
The absences could invite Nafti to pull team players for both games. Javi Rubio was already in Zorrilla (Right side) and Alba (central), who could be joined by men like Victor (youth center) o Felix Ofoli Quaye (subsidiary headquarters), all of them habitual of the training sessions of the Leganes in the last weeks.