Spain's Fermin Lopez ruled out of World Cup after suffering metatarsal fracture

[p]It's bad news for the European champions, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a]. One of the most important players in the national team, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fermin/2c2ipETG/"]Fermin Lopez[/a], who has just had an outstanding season with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a], where he won LaLiga, will miss the tournament in North America.[/p][p]The player from Huelva was substituted at half-time in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/barcelona-SKbpVP5K/betis-vJbTeCGP/?mid=SduXBE3E"]Sunday's match against Betis[/a] after taking a knock to his foot.[b] [/b][/p][embed guid="8d831a2f-7a65-4234-9428-77c00f01d6ac" url="https://x.com/FCBarcelona/status/2056343339792732516" social-type="twitter" /][p]On Monday, Barcelona officially released a medical report stating that he has a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. Unfortunately, this means he will miss the World Cup, as he will need surgery and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks.[/p][p][b]De la Fuente will announce the final list of 26 players who will represent Spain next Monday, May 25th.[/b][/p][image alt="Fermin's stats in the ongoing LaLiga season" id="a96b9254-6bd9-41d0-91cf-b1a7fc31fef7" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform (photo by REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)" guid="7b1e07d7-177f-4731-a9b5-c1450cab21d2" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The El Campillo native was European champion and Olympic gold medalist with Spain in 2024 and had the upcoming World Cup marked on his calendar, aiming for an international treble. His appearance at football’s biggest event will have to wait until 2030.[/p]