Canales returns as Guruzeta drops out for Athletic’s Alavés clash

Athletic have their squad ready for the Alavés visit to San Mamés. According to MARCA, the big change is the return of Canales to the group after a spell on the sidelines since September 1 with a left-calf muscle problem. The report adds that he travelled to Valencia for training, and his inclusion was decided after a check-in with the coaching staff following that session.

On the other side, Guruzeta is not in the right condition and has been left out of the 23-man list because of discomfort. As MARCA explains, the striker had been back in the plan after returning against Levante, but this time he’ll have to wait due to an issue affecting the right hamstring area.

Canales back after injury

The article details that he missed games against Atlético and Elche and also wasn’t part of the matchday group for the fixture later postponed versus Levante. A week after that, Athletic communicated Guruzeta’s moderate hamstring setback, which kept him out of Elche, even though he made the squad against Levante.

Rotation up front

For the Alavés match, the coach signalled he has trust in the options he has and that there will be rotation. In comments collected by MARCA, Terzic said: “I trust Maroan, Guruzeta and Iñaki as my No. 9s… There will be moments when we need to rotate and give the chance for them to show how important they are for the team.”

With Guruzeta out of the squad, Maroan and Iñaki Williams become the main candidates in attack, while Guruzeta’s fitness will be reassessed after the upcoming break.