Thigh injury rules out Villa
27 Jun 2008 - 10:47:33
Spain striker David Villa will definitely miss the Euro 2008 final against Germany due to a thigh muscle injury picked up in the 3-0 semi-final defeat of Russia.
The tournament's four-goal top-scorer limped out of Thursday's semi-final success in the 35th minute and will play no part against Germany in Vienna.
"Villa won't be playing in the final," confirmed Spain coach Luis Aragones. "He suffered a muscle strain."
However despite the blow, the Valencia striker has vowed to remain positive as Spain look to secure their first piece of silverware since the 1964 European Championship.
Villa scored a hat-trick in Spain's opening 4-1 group stage win over Russia and was also on the mark in the 2-1 success over Sweden which booked their place in the knockout stages.
"All I want to do now is enjoy Sunday," he said. "I'm a little sad that I won't be there to take part but it's better that a team-mate who is fit plays instead of me, particularly as my injury has left me limping quite badly.
"At the start I was really upset because I knew it was going to be very difficult to play in the final if we got there.
"But after the way the team played in the second half I cheered up and now am really happy despite everything.
"This is an achievement for the whole squad and we want to take the glory on Sunday."
