De la Barrera still has doubts over Enrique Clemente vs Burgos

Las Palmas coach De la Barrera was clear that the team’s defensive problems are not easing. As he explained in his press comments, after it was confirmed that Viti will be out for two months, Enrique Clemente now carries knee discomfort as well: the player did not train the day before and was tested in the morning session to see if he can make the game.

Waiting on a knee test

According to the coach, “We don’t know if Enrique Clemente will be able to play, he has discomfort. For this match we are not going to get pieces back.” The plan was to assess his condition after that work at Barranco Seco, and decide from there whether he is available against Burgos.

De la Barrera also listed current injuries in the back line: Marvin, Viti, Álex Suárez and Opoku. If Clemente cannot recover in time, the coach admitted that he would only have four first-team options: Pezzolesi, Herzog, Bonfanti and Andrés.

He added that during the week he worked with Aidan Pérez and Rachid, the two youngsters from the reserve side who travelled to Cádiz. “The normal thing is that both will be in the squad again vs Burgos,” he said.

More absences to come

On top of that, Herzog will miss two matches because he has been called up with the U21 for games against Finland, San Marino and Romania—meaning he won’t play vs Eibar and Valladolid. With so many issues in defence, the key question right now is whether Clemente’s symptoms settle enough for him to be ready, as Marca reported.