(Reuters) – Edinson Cavani will miss Valencia’s match against Real Betis on Thursday as the Uruguay striker recovers from an ankle injury with only two weeks to go until their World Cup opener against South Korea.
Valencia coach Gennaro Gattuso said he hoped Cavani can feature at the tournament in Qatar despite his right ankle still being swollen.
“Edi in the last five or six days has done everything to be able to play but the ankle is very swollen and in pain,” Gattuso told a news conference on Wednesday.
“He has shown great availability but he can’t train.”
The 35-year-old attacker has scored four goals in seven games this LaLiga season with Valencia, but the coach revealed he has been receiving constant treatment after he was forced off against Barcelona at the end of October.
“The last MRI was done a few weeks ago and the ankle is better… but when he gets hit it bothers him,” he said.
Gattuso added that it is up to Uruguay coach Diego Alonso and his staff to decide whether to call up the striker.
“It’s an assessment that his national team has to make… We haven’t discussed with our medical staff whether he can miss the World Cup,” the Italian coach said.
“I’m not thinking all negative, I hope he plays a great World Cup and that his ankle doesn’t bother him.”
Cavani faces a race to be fit for Uruguay’s clash with South Korea on Nov. 24. Uruguay will also face Portugal and Ghana in Group H.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis)
