Canales injured for 5-6 months

Sergio Canales received an injury to his right knee in the match against Athletic Bilbao this past weekend that will keep him sidelined for quite some time. The damage is to his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is serious enough to require surgery which will see Canales out for a minimum of 5 months.  The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the youngster as he was getting regular minutes in Emery’s squad and was really starting to prove himself.  Canales will be operated on in Madrid under the supervision of his parent club, Real Madrid.  He will not stay in Madrid permanently and will return to Valencia to recover with VCF. Valencia and Real Madrid will not terminate the loan as it is a long term one, but Canales will still be sorely missed in midfield, especially with Tino Costa still injured. Some good news lies in the facts that Tino Costa is scheduled to return soon and Ever Banega has found his form this season. This should also give Pablo Piatti more minutes on the field, as he has been short on playing time recently. When he does play, however, he is excellent, so this will give himself a chance to cement his place in the starting 11. The logical adaptation would be to slide Jonas into the Supporting Striker/CAM position (where he normally plays anyway) and put Piatti in that LW position that Canales and Jonas normally drift in and out of.

It’s still very possible, however, that Mathieu will be pushed up to LW (he played there against Chelsea, Leverkusen, and Barcelona) and Jordi Alba will start at LB. Only time will tell; Valencia fans will hope that whatever Emery decides, his tactical adjustment will benefit the team.

By: David Wall
Edited: Matt Sinacore