Osasuna will be without star forward Ante Budimir for a minimum of a month, after the big Croatian fractured three ribs against Valencia on Monday night.
A match already infamous for Budimir’s penalty, the 32-year-old spent the night after in hospital as a result. Osasuna have since announced that he has been released without detecting a secondary trauma in his ribs. He will return the following week for further X-rays to determine the evolution of his injury before beginning individual training again.
🏥 MEDICAL UPDATE: Forward Ante Budimir.#LetsGoRojillos
— C. A. OSASUNA (@osasuna_en) April 17, 2024
After a month, he will then be evaluated as to whether he can rejoin full training. It means he will likely miss five of their next seven games, against Rayo Vallecano, Granada, Real Betis, Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca. He could return for their final two games of the season against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
It will likely leave him without a chance to compete for the Pichichi race. Budimir was enjoying an excelllent season, and has 15 goals to his name, only behind Jude Bellingham (16) and Artem Dovbyk (17). Osasuna remain 11th, 14 points ahead of relegation zone and 8 points removed from a Conference League place.
