Navas achilles injury raises Copa fears

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid’s Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has been hit by a recurrence of an achilles injury, the club said, raising fears he could miss the Copa America Centenario.

Real said Navas, 29, was suffering from the problem in his left foot, without indicating how long he would take to recover. The Copa starts in California on Friday.

“After the tests (were) carried out… he has been diagnosed with an achilles tendinopathy in his left foot,” Real said in a short medical update on Monday.

“His recovery will continue to be assessed.”

Navas’s injury first flared in Real’s Champions League semi-final second leg victory over Manchester City, and forced him to miss the penultimate La Liga game of the season against Valencia.

Spanish media said Real’s physios helped Navas get through last week’s Champions League final, which the team won on penalties, but that he now needed to rest — meaning Costa Rica’s talisman could be forced to sit out the Copa.

“In recent weeks (Navas) was treated by physios in order to play the final of the Champions League, but now he has to stop (playing) completely to recover,” Spain’s AS newspaper said.  

Costa Rica’s first game of the Copa is against Paraguay on Saturday, and they will also play the United States and Colombia in the group phase.