Spain fear Pino's World Cup is over as Williams also limps off after Uruguay win

Spain’s World Cup campaign faces a significant injury crisis after Crystal Palace forward Yeremy Pino suffered a suspected broken collarbone and Nico Williams limped off with a groin problem during the 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Group H.

Pino entered as a second-half substitute in the 65th minute but landed awkwardly on his left shoulder in the closing stages. Despite staying on to help Spain see out the result, head coach Luis de la Fuente confirmed the injury is serious. “Pino can miss the rest of the World Cup,” De la Fuente said at his post-match press conference. “It is a collarbone injury. We will do more scans tomorrow. He was suffering a lot, it was heroic that he helped us until the end of the game.”

The 23-year-old’s situation will be assessed further, but a broken collarbone would almost certainly end his tournament. Williams, who came into the competition nursing a pre-existing injury, compounded Spain’s concerns when he appeared to aggravate a groin problem after coming on in the 75th minute and was seen limping at full-time.

The potential absences place further strain on a Spain attack already managing the fitness of Lamine Yamal, who has had his minutes carefully managed following his return from a hamstring injury. Yamal played 75 minutes against Uruguay, having made his first start of the tournament in the 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. Williams, a key figure in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, has yet to start a game at this World Cup.

Despite the injury concerns, Spain topped Group H with the narrow victory, setting up a last-32 tie against either Austria or Algeria in Los Angeles on 2 July. Cape Verde, who held Spain to a 0-0 draw earlier in the group stage, caused one of the tournament’s early surprises by finishing as runners-up.