Chelsea defender Cucurella replaces injured Gaya in Spain squad
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has made a change to his squad for the forthcoming friendly games against Colombia and Brazil, with Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella replacing Valencia's Jose Luis Gaya.
Real Madrid's Rodrygo (L) vies with Chelsea's Marc Cucurella during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first Leg match between Real Madrid and Chelsea FC in Madrid, Spain, on April 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)
Gaya suffered a muscle injury to his right thigh during Valencia's 1-0 defeat in Villarreal on Sunday.
Cucurella returned to the squad after scoring the opening goal in Chelsea's 4-2 win at home to Leicester City in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
The former Brighton and Getafe defender has played once for Spain in a friendly against Lithuania in June 2021, but is well known to De la Fuente, who has previously coached several of Spain's national youth teams and took charge of the squad that took a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Spain will play Colombia at the London Stadium on March 22 and face Brazil in Madrid four days later.