Football: Athletic Bilbao striker Guruzeta suffers serious knee injury

Madrid: Athletic Bilbao forward Gorka Guruzeta is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in Saturday's 0-0 draw away to Valencia.

The 30-year-old came on as a second-half substitute and had been on the pitch for just over a minute when he pulled up after appearing to catch his foot in the turf at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium.

Athletic Bilbao coach Edin Terzic said at the post-match press conference that the injury "doesn't look good," and the club has now confirmed the worst fears.

"Athletic Club forward Gorka Guruzeta has suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, as confirmed by the club's medical staff," the club said on its website on Monday.

"The player will undergo surgery in the coming days and is expected to face an extended recovery period of six to nine months."

Although Guruzeta had yet to score this season, he was Athletic's top scorer in the 2025-26 campaign, netting 10 goals in 35 La Liga appearances and a further five in seven Champions League matches.

His injury leaves Inaki Williams and Maroan Sannadi as the main specialist strikers in the Basque side's first-team squad, with Sannadi having only returned to fitness this summer after missing a large part of last season with a knee problem.

Guruzeta is the fourth Athletic player to suffer an ACL tear in the past year. Benat Prados and Unai Egiluz sustained the same injury last season, while Manex Lozano suffered an ACL tear in February when he was on loan at Racing Santander.

Earlier, Athletic Bilbao defender Dani Vivian addressed the groin problem that sidelined him for the first seven games of the season and cost him a place at last summer's World Cup.

The 27-year-old returned to full training towards the end of September after months of rehabilitation for an adductor insertion injury that first troubled him in January. Rather than stop playing when the problem emerged, Vivian said he carried on to help his club during a difficult run of results.

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