Madrid, May 21 (IANS): Valencia left-back Jose Luis Gaya is in danger of missing out on a place in the Spain squad for the European Championships (Euro 2024) after suffering a relapse of a muscle injury in his right quadriceps on Sunday. The defender had only been on the pitch for 11 minutes as he returned from two months out with the injury when he signalled for a change and had a scan on the injury on Monday.

The muscle tear leaves Gaya with little time to recover for the European Championships, which kick off in the middle of June, and Spain's coach, Luis de la Fuente will have to decide whether or not to take a risk on the defender, when he names his 26-man squad on May 27, reports Xinhua.

If Gaya isn't fit enough to travel, it would be incredibly bad luck for the left-back, who was included by former Spain coach Luis Enrique for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, only to have to withdraw from the squad when already in Qatar after suffering an ankle injury.