Overview
- Gorka Guruzeta suffered a left anterior cruciate ligament rupture after roughly six minutes at Mestalla and will miss the rest of the season with surgery and rehabilitation planned.
- This injury is the fourth ACL tear at Athletic in the past 15 months, joining Unai Egiluz, Beñat Prados and Manex Lozano in the cluster of long-term knee injuries.
- The loss reduces Athletic's attacking options during a spell when Iñaki Williams is struggling to score and opens a likely starting opportunity for Maroan Sannadi in the upcoming match against Levante.
- Guruzeta now faces a second lengthy recovery from the same injury he suffered earlier in his career, and he has previously spoken about how that first rehabilitation changed his habits as a player.
- The series of ACL cases has set off alarm at Lezama and could prompt the club to review medical protocols, training loads and squad depth to limit further long-term absences.