Pape Gueye: Villarreal coach provides injury update on midfielder

Villarreal head coach Marcelino Garcia has provided an update on the condition of Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye after he left the pitch early in the second half of their La Liga derby against Valencia on Sunday.

Five days after their win against Levante, Villarreal repeated the feat on Sunday, defeating their other rival, Valencia 2-1. Pape Gueye scored the winning goal from the penalty spot before being substituted due to injury, to a standing ovation from the La Cerámica crowd.

Pape Gueye’s free-kick was the only shot on target in the first 20 minutes. In the 22nd minute, Umar Sadiq was brought down by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Júnior, giving the visitors a penalty which Largie Ramazani calmly converted.

However, the African champion requested a substitution in the 58th minute and was replaced by former Arsenal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey.

‘I felt he was the best player’

“Pape Gueye’s injury was due to a knock he took in the first half. He arrived at halftime with significant swelling,” Garcia said after the game.

“We hesitated to replace him, but he wanted to continue. And he played as long as he could. I think he had an impressive first half. I felt he was the best player on the pitch during that period.

“And then, I think we felt his absence (after he came off), not only because of what Pape Gueye represents, but also because of how the match unfolded.”

The Senegalese midfielder was immense, winning all five of his duels while showing efficiency with his passing. The 27-year-old continues to show his qualities as a true “box-to-box” midfielder and now has 3 goals 3 goals and an assist in 28 appearances this season.

The victory sent Villarreal back into third place with a three-point lead on fourth place Atlético Madrid. Another difficult fixture comes next Saturday when they travel to face league leaders FC Barcelona, who lead rivals Real Madrid by only one point.