Iñaki Williams injured: Athletic face a tough decision

Iñaki Williams finished Athletic’s match vs Elche with a knock after receiving a blow to his foot. The game ended 1-1, and the rojiblanco captain had to be replaced immediately, leaving the pitch limping.

Foot injury update

As Mundo Deportivo reports, coach Terzic stopped short of giving timelines but said the club must wait and see how it develops. “It’s too early to know the impact of the blow they gave Iñaki. He’s taken a hit to the foot and we have to wait to see how he evolves,” he said after the game. Terzic added that, after treatment, Williams felt “more comfortable,” and that he had “good feelings,” suggesting it may be nothing more than a knock.

Doubts in attack

The concern is the schedule: Williams has been the reference in the team’s last three matches (vs Celta, Atlético and Elche). If he’s not fit, Athletic’s most advanced options become more complicated—especially while Guruzeta is recovering from a muscle injury of moderate severity and missed the squad for the Elche game. Terzic said the German has been training hard in the gym and that he’ll return to on-pitch work at the start of the week, though Mundo Deportivo notes it still looks too soon for a call-up for the trip to Levante on Wednesday.

For rotation, the paper also highlights that Iñaki Ugalde is pushing for the role up front, while Maroan came on as a late offensive change: he replaced Williams in the 81st minute. Maroan’s last appearance before this was also as a substitute, in the opening match vs Sevilla.

After a day off, Athletic return to training today at Lezama (10:30). Tomorrow’s session is at the same time, and then Terzic will speak to the media to clarify the attack situation, according to Mundo Deportivo.