Diakhaby's return bolsters Aguirre's Valencia ahead of Sardinero test
Mexican coach Javier Aguirre arrived at Valencia's training base in Paterna less than two weeks before his league debut at El Sardinero, and Mouctar Diakhaby took part in the Monday session, marking the defender’s first involvement since his adductor injury.
Mixed recovery in Monday training
Valencia wrapped up Monday with an evening training at the Ciutat Esportiva in Paterna. The same day the Mexican manager was formally introduced at Mestalla. While Diakhaby joined his teammates, Umar Sadiq, Diego López and Sergi Canós remained in treatment, unable to set foot on the grass.
The central defender from Guinea continued his gradual return, having completed part of the drill despite his adductor problem. Guido Rodríguez also finished the session but reported a foot discomfort. Con the three defenders still training individually, the rest of the squad completed the session. Behind them, three defenders – José Manuel Copete, César Tárrega and Dimitri Foulquier – trained individually after recovering from a meniscus rupture, a hamstring injury and an adductor issue respectively, aiming to follow Diakhaby’s example.
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Injury list and squad depth
The attacking unit featured Arnaut Danjuma, Hugo Duro, Daniel Raba and Aimar Blázquez, the latter promoted from the B team to complete the drill. In goal, Stole Dimitrievski was called up for Macedonia and Aliou Dieng for Mali, while Ryunosuke Sato was absent from the Paterna session. Concluding the lineup, Cristian Rivero and Kayne van Oevelen kept the posts, with David Otorbi, Jaume Durá and Rodrigo Gamón added to the squad, and Aaron Mayol remaining at Valencia rather than returning to the reserves.
Valencia travel to El Sardinero on 11 October for their first league encounter under Aguirre. The fixture against Racing de Santander marks the manager’s debut since the club announced his appointment. Aguirre hopes Diakhaby will be fully fit and that at least one of the three defenders working individually will rejoin the collective training before the game.
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With the calendar tightening, each training session gains importance as the team seeks to improve its defensive options. The Mexican coach continues to assess his squad, aiming to have a broader pool of players available for the remainder of the season.