RIERA LEFT OUT

Earlier this year Albert Riera made his way out of the Turkish side Galatasaray and joined the Wellington Phoenix but the Spanish midfielder has suffered a groin tear during a training session with his new team that will be leaving him out of action for a few weeks.

The head coach of the club Ernie Merrick spoke about the condition of Riera on a press conference.

“It looks like Albert has torn a deep groin muscle just at the end of training. It doesn’t look good. We’ll assess it tomorrow. But Alex Rufer is on standby for his place in the travelling squad,” said Merrick.

“Deep groin muscles aren’t good to deal with, so it could be a little while before he’s back … It looks like Albert has torn a deep groin muscle, just at the end of training. So it doesn’t look good. He’s been outstanding … It is sad because he’s been playing very well; he’s been running the show. He’s turned out to be one of the best middle midfielders in the league.”

The side of Ernie Merrick has been taking a few blows in their squad with Paul Ifill, Louis Fenton and Leo Bertos all out with injuries and now Albert Riera is the latest player that joins the list of injuries.

West Bromwich is believed to be interested in securing the services of the former Liverpool player Alber Riera. The Premier League side which is struggling to keep themselves out of the bottom relegation zone took an interest in the Spanish midfielder ever since he was expected to leave Galatasaray.