16.10.2012, 08:28
Hombrados out for six months

Atlético Madrid vow to stand by their goalkeeper despite the serious knee ligament injury which staved him off from the home World Championship in January

Madrid goalkeeper out for six months

Goalkeeper José Javier Hombrados will be out of action for 6-7 months after the anterior cruciate ligament ruptured in his left knee.

The injury will prevent Hombrados from playing in the World Championship to be held in January in Spain, where the Atlético Madrid goalkeeper dreamed of securing a second world title for the Spanish national team after their victory in Tunisia in 2005.

"The dream of playing in a World Championship in Spain in Madrid is over for me, but I hope the second part of that dream - that Spain does well - will come true," said Hombrados to Spanish media.

Meanwhile, just a few hours after knowing the severity of the injury Atlético de Madrid announced they would extend their captain’s contract for another year, ensuring that 40-year-old Hombrados will remain with them until at least June 2014.

The Spanish international goalkeeper, who underwent successful surgery this week, does not want this injury to mean the end to his long and successful career.

“It would be a little sad to retire this way,” he said. “At 40 years old the biggest ambition for me is to recover from this injury and play again.”

His long absence will force Atlético Madrid to look for a new goalkeeper for the rest of the season, a quest that, by their own admission, will not be easy.

“We will see how the transfer market is, but it will not be easy because at this point of the season, there are not many guaranteed goalkeepers without a team. But we will try to find one, because it will be many months before Hombrados comes back,” said Atlético’s general manager, Luis Miguel López.

Meanwhile Atlético, who will play against IK Sävehof in Göthenburg on Wednesday in the third match of the VELUX EHF Champions League, will have to choose between Norwegian Magnus Dahl and 18-year-old Antonio Díez for their goalkeeper.

TEXT: Javier Villanueva