Hercules Again Concerned About Injuries

Despite Ruben Torrecilla's good wishes and optimism, the Hercules infirmary still has more occupants than desired. The Extremaduran coach hopes to recover some of the four injured players, all of whom are very important, for the upcoming match on Saturday against Atletico de Madrid B (Rico Perez, 21:30).

Of the four, the only one who sat on the bench at La Constitucion de Yecla was forward Dani Romera, although Torrecilla admitted at the end of the match that he did so only to reward his work as he was not fit to play. It remains to be seen if the attacker improves enough to have a role against the Atletico reserve team. Romera is paying the price for arriving very late to preseason and is a fundamental player for Torrecilla in attack. The minutes are being shared between Coscia and Mendes, but both are far from scoring. In fact, of the three forwards in the squad, only the Argentine has scored, and it was from a penalty.

The other three players who watched the Yecla match from the stands are defender Sotillos, the versatile Alvarito, and the scorer Oriol Soldevila. The first of them was injured in Algeciras, and Torrecilla assured last Friday that he would be fit for Sunday in case Samu needed a replacement after his long inactivity. But Sotillos did not feel good and did not sit on the bench. If he trains normally this week, he would return to the center of defense alongside Montoro, as he is a key player for the coach.

Meanwhile, the scorer Soldevila has notably improved from his ankle sprain, and the rest Torrecilla has given him in the two consecutive away games should be enough. Soldevila's level at Rico Perez has been outstanding so far, and the Catalan wants to help his teammates now. This week he will increase the workload and try to complete all the work with the group to be called up against Atletico B.

The most complex case is Alvarito, as he has suffered several muscle injuries, and the coach acknowledged last week that his return will be cautious to avoid further relapses. The versatile Madrid player had a spectacular match as a full-back in Algeciras, scored a stunning goal, but suffered a new tear in the final stretch that has forced him to stop again.