Marquez out up to 6 weeks

It looks like Rafa Marquez is the latest to be bitten by the Group D injury bug. Marquez tore a muscle in his thigh in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad yesterday. Mexicans everywhere are deeply concerned not only because their skipper is out, but also because Maza Rodriguez may have to replace him in the starting line-up.

An examination this morning revealed the torn muscle, and the Barcelona medical staff believes Marquez will be out up to 6 weeks. The tear is 5 cm (2 inches for the metric impaired) long. If that is the case, he will only have one month to get match fit again before the world cup. He also is slated to miss both legs of the Champions League quarterfinals vs. Benfica, and possibly the semi-finals legs if Barça advances. The doctors also said that this is the most common injury this time of year. As if that is supposed to make us feel better.

This also magnifies the loss of Aaron Galindo, who was banned for doping for a year. It was Galindo, and not Maza, who replaced an injured Marquez in the line up at the Confed cup last year.

If Marquez is out until early May, he will have a few weeks to play in las Liga, and then hopefully become the first Mexicano to play in the Chapions League final on the 17th May. Coach Ricardo Lavolpe had revealed earlier in the week that he would not call on Marquez until after his duties with Barcelona were over. Really?
That would leave only about 2 weeks of training with a Mexican side that will have been together since mid-April. So rest up, Rafa, que llegues al mundial sano y listo para ganar.