Martinez or Nacho could replace injured Albiol

Madrid, Oct 6 (IANS) Spain coach Vicente del Bosque suffered a setback in his plans for the two World Cup qualifying matches as central defender Raul Albiol had to withdraw from the squad through injury.

Albiol has suffered a torn muscle and Spain coach del Bosque confirmed this Saturday that he will be calling a replacement in the squad after this weekend’s round of matches, reports Xinhua.

Del Bosque is likely to hand a recall to Real Sociedad’s Inigo Martinez or Real Madrid’s Nacho Gonzalez. Barcelona’s Marc Bartra is another possibility.

Albiol, who left Real Madrid for Naples this summer, was named in Del Bosque’s squad to face Belarus and Georgia.

The reigning world champions only need to win one of the games against the sides bottom and second from bottom of their qualifying group to book their ticket for Brazil 2014. They have a superior goal difference over their nearest rivals, France, who have only one qualifying match left to play.