Spain coach Montse Tomé has said she has to rein Aitana Bonmatí in as the midfielder pushes to start Thursday’s European Championship opener against Portugal after recovering from viral meningitis.
Back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner Bonmatí was hospitalised last Friday but was released over the weekend and joined up with her teammates at their base in Switzerland on Monday.
“Aitana’s recovery is going well,” Tomé said in the prematch news conference. “She did some [individual] training on her own with the fitness team on Tuesday.
“Her evolution has been really positive. She will do some work with the rest of the squad in the final session [on Wednesday] before the game.
“I have to highlight how desperate she is to play. We have to put the brakes on her at times, but it’s all positive.
“Obviously her health comes first. It’s not been a great situation, but luckily she’s recovered really quickly.”
Goalkeeper Cata Coll was also a doubt to face Portugal after coming down with tonsillitis at the start of the week, but Tomé suggested the Barcelona stopper will be fine to start at Stadion Wankdorf.
Spain will be without captain Irene Paredes, though, as the centre-back serves the second of a two-game ban for a red card accrued during the qualification phase for the tournament a year ago.
Italy and Belgium join Spain and Portugal in Group B, with La Roja the favourites to not only progress to the quarterfinals, but to win the whole tournament.
European champions England, Germany and France are among the teams expected to be the biggest challengers to Spain, who have never previously won the Euros and haven’t even reached a semifinal since 1997.
“We don’t like labels,” midfielder Patri Guijarro said in a news conference when asked if she agreed that Spain are the favourites to lift the trophy in Basel at the end of July.
“There are a lot of powerful teams here. All teams are 200% prepared to try and win every game. We’re going to try the same.
“Obviously our objective right now is to win tomorrow; then short-term to get out of the group. But you know we’re ambitious and we want to win it all.
“It’s flattering if others focus on us, like how we play and how we have evolved as a team. But in a Euros, you have to focus on yourselves.
“Everyone you face wants three points, to win, to knock you out. Every day is life or death here, either you stay or you’re going home.”