Guruzeta out for the season: Athletic look for a striker

Athletic Club have a serious problem up front. Gorka Guruzeta, last season's top scorer with 17 goals, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee five minutes after coming on at Mestalla against Valencia, and he is out for the rest of the season. He has already undergone surgery. Maroan Sannadi is also sidelined after a moderate-to-severe hamstring injury in the derby against Real Sociedad, with six to eight weeks out and no return before Christmas, according to Mundo Deportivo. Edin Terzic has only one recognised centre-forward left in the first team, Iñaki Williams, who has played more through the middle than on the right. The alternatives involve converting attacking midfielders: Robert Navarro played as a second striker against Real Sociedad, while Berenguer, Oihan Sancet and Nico Serrano have also been tried in that role. From the youth ranks, Txus Vizcay already has three call-ups with the first team and has scored for Bilbao Athletic. The coach admitted the injuries have forced changes and that several options are being tested in training. The bad luck also hits the reserve forward line, with Asier Hierro suffering a partial rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and Manex Lozano, on loan at Racing de Santander, out with a serious knee injury.