Spain winger injury gives Luis de la Fuente decision ahead of Euro 2024 debut against Croatia

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente suffered a setback two days before his Euro 2024 debut after Aymeric Laporte missed training with a muscle problem. Defender Al-Nassr has been a regular for de la Fuente since his arrival, but will now have to make a call on his potential replacement against Croatia.

Real Sociedad defender Robin Le Normand is likely to be joined by one of Nacho Fernandez or Dani Vivian, as the former has also been an appointment for La Roja under de la Fuente. Nacho has not been in a Spain team since de la Fuente's first call-up, but Relief they say he will likely start ahead of Vivian, due to his experience, form and fitness coming off the back of a Champions League triumph. Laporte will travel to Berlin with the team, and it is not excluded, but it would be a surprise if it was risky.

Certainly Nacho seems to be the safe option for de la Fuente. There is the benefit that he will also be familiar with Dani Carvajal at club level, while Alejandro Grimaldo is a newcomer for Spain. Vivian rarely played with any of them, although the Basque defender had arguably the best season of any of the centre-backs.