Villarreal unsure of status of trio of stars for upcoming Atlético clash

The status of three members of the first-team setup at La Liga outfit Villarreal remains up in the air, ahead of the club’s return to action, post-international break.

That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who have today provided an insight into the latest developments behind the scenes in Castellón.

The trio of doubts in Marcelino’s ranks, as things stand, come in the form of Raúl Albiol, Alfonso Pedraza and Juan Foyth.

Of the three, stopper Foyth is the only one who took part in group training alongside the rest of Villarreal’s squad on Wednesday.

With the Argentine having not taken to the pitch since all the way back in December after being forced under the knife to solve a shoulder problem, however, it is currently unclear if he will be given the green light to feature against Atlético Madrid, in the Yellow Submarine’s post-international break return to action.

Veteran defender Albiol, meanwhile, is continuing to nurse a muscular problem, but MD point towards the 38-year-old as being the most likely of the three to feature against Atléti.

And, last up, the situation of left-back Pedraza remains largely unclear, with the Spaniard’s ankle injury having proven to be more serious than was first hoped back in January.

He could yet link back up with his teammates over the coming week, but the Villarreal medical staff are proceeding with maximum caution, eager for Pedraza to avoid any kind of setback.

Conor Laird | GSFN