Cesc Fábregas's frustrating World Cup is set to be maintained tomorrow with the midfielder not expected to start the semi-final against Germany despite being declared fit to play by the coach, Vicente del Bosque, following a shin injury.
The Arsenal midfielder suffered bruising to the shin in the European champions' last training session at their base in Potchefstroom before they flew to Durban today. Although he was able to train tonight, Del Bosque is thought unlikely to risk starting with him, meaning that the out-of-form striker Fernando Torres is set to retain his place.
"He trained well, pretty well," Del Bosque said of Fábregas, an x-ray having revealed that no fracture had been sustained. "Yesterday we were pretty worried because he got hit right where he had been injured, but he's available to play."
Relief for Fábregas will be tempered by annoyance that his attempts to make an impact at the World Cup finals are likely to be thwarted again. The 23-year-old cracked the same bone during Arsenal's Champions League tie with Barcelona in March, restricting him to two appearances ahead of the tournament. His anticipated absence tomorrow after a promising cameo against Paraguay in the quarter-final will do little for the player's mood.
Fábregas has cut a somewhat disconsolate figure among Spanish ranks in this tournament, having arrived in South Africa expecting to play a major role in the team. He has yet to start a game, despite influencing contests on his three appearances as a substitute. He was dismayed not to be involved at all in the second‑round win over Portugal, with Del Bosque turning instead to Fernando Llorente to replace the struggling Torres just before the hour.
The midfielder's frustrations will have been exacerbated by an admission from the new Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, that the Catalan club will struggle to match Arsenal's valuation of Fábregas once the tournament in South Africa is concluded. The player had hoped a move back to the Camp Nou could be smoothed ahead of the new season, though Rosell has conceded that the Spanish champions are seeking a £125m loan to cover "short-term liquidity issues" despite having already offloaded the likes of Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Yaya Touré this summer.
"We will never pay €50 or €60m for Cesc," said Rosell, who intends to speak to Arsène Wenger when he visits South Africa this weekend. "This [proposed transfer] has been broadcast here, there and everywhere, and that's the worst thing that could have happened. The Cesc situation is very complicated because a lot of expectations have been generated on the part of the seller, and that's not good for Barça. There are things you cannot say until a deal is closed, otherwise you pay a premium. But everyone knows he wants to come here and that we want to have him back."
For now, Fábregas's misfortune could effectively benefit Torres who, despite being without a goal in the tournament, should start in an unchanged line-up against the Germans. The Liverpool forward could yet flourish in the more open contest anticipated in Durban this evening. The striker scored the only goal when the sides met in the final of Euro 2008 and is eager for history to repeat itself in Spain's first ever World Cup semi-final appearance. "Scoring again against Germany to take us into the final would be unbelievable," he said. "We have done well against them in recent games, though this German team is much better than previous sides we have faced. But none of us will settle just for a place in the semi-finals: we want more. We all know this is the first time our nation has reached this stage of the competition, but we are also all aware that we may never have a chance like this again."
The goalkeeper Iker Casillas said: "We know that the Germany match is the most important in our history. Even more than the Euro 2008 final in Austria."