Girona will take on Arsenal next week in their last Champions League match of the season, in which they hope to recover somewhat proudly after a gloomy series of results in the competition phase. The side of Michel Sanchez has collected points in just one match (2-0 victory against Slovan Bratislava), so they hope to make it a second on Wednesday, although the Premier League Giants are strong favorites for the victory.
To make things more difficult for Girona, they will almost certainly be without two more important players for the match in Montilivi. They are already sweating on the fitness of Miguel Gutierrez and Ladislav Krejci, and now goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and important defender Daley Blind have both picked up muscular injuries during the La Ligamarage on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano.
Blind was forced in the half hour to be replaced by Alejandro Frances, and minutes later Gazzaniga also felt his hamstring. Girona -head coach Michel, however, against making an immediate replacement, because this would have done that there was only more lock for the rest of the game. As such, the Argentinian keeper remained until the break, at what point Pau Lopez came into place.
In the coming days, Girona will communicate the seriousness of the injuries due to blind and gazzaniga, as well as the expected dismissal period. Club officials will desperately hope that both problems are small, but even if that is the case, both players will certainly not be risking against Arsenal.
Girona will play against Arsenal for pride after their midweek worry against AC Milan confirmed that they cannot continue to the knockout phase of the Champions League. Nevertheless, the team will be desperate to give their supporters something to cheer about, especially since it seems unlikely that qualification will be possible for the competition of the following season.
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