Alvarito, Artiles, and Samu Miss the Derby Against Murcia

A Rubén Torrecilla, Hércules' coach, continues to receive bad news from the infirmary. Muscle injuries are relentless, and he has three confirmed absences for this Saturday's (21:30) match against league leaders Real Murcia: Samu Vázquez, Alvarito, and José Artiles. They might be joined by Abraham del Moral, who is recovering from a muscle injury, and very likely the latest signing Franck Angong, who has been inactive and will need his own preseason.

Torrecilla referred to the signing of the Cameroonian midfielder as follows: "Angong must bring us physicality, he knows the category, and when I was at Castellón, he had a very good first half with Intercity. He has legs, works hard, is intense, has a good foot, and can play as a six or an eight. It's true that he has been inactive, but that doesn't worry me because we have a very high training pace and he'll get fit quickly." The Extremaduran coach confirmed that Angong comes to compete for the position with Mario García, so far the only defensive pivot in the squad.

The Hércules coach described the derby against Real Murcia as a "great match" and assured that in such a high-level duel "there is no favorite." "Two very good teams will play, with variations and good attacking players. I know it will be a great match between two teams that want to win in an almost full stadium. It's one of the matches of the year," argued the Extremaduran coach.

Torrecilla stated that motivation at Hércules is at its peak, as he recalled that last year his team went through "many bad moments" to be able to play "this type of match." "Here, in front of 18,000 or 20,000 spectators is where you see the good players. We are prepared for this very high level," added the coach, who recalled that a Hércules-Murcia is special because of the many precedents between both teams in all categories of Spanish football.

The blue-and-white coach predicted a match "with alternatives" and indicated that the team with more chances to win will be the one that "wins more duels, takes advantage of its opportunities, and plays more time in the opponent's field. They have very good players and are a well-coached block by their manager. They have transition, are vertical and Pedro León," Torrecilla recalled, who emphasized the importance of defending well in this category. In this regard, Josema will repeat in the center of defense and Sotillos will play as right-back in the absence of Samu Vázquez and Alvarito.