EURO 2012: Spain refuse to rush decision on Villa

Spanish Coach Vicente Del Bosque has announced that he will wait until the last possible moment to make a decision on whether David Villa will be included in his squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He also refused to confirm whether or not Fernando Torres will be recalled to the squad for the tournament.

Barcelona forward Villa, who has netted 51 times in 82 appearances for his country, fractured his left tibia during the semi-final of the Club World Cup against Al Saad in December. At first it was said that the former Valencia man’s chances of playing again this campaign were “slim”. However it now seems to be looking more positive and, although he is unlikely to play in La Liga again this season, he will be given a chance to prove his fitness before the final squad is announced.

The reigning World and European champions will announce a provisional squad on the 15^th May which will also include those players selected for the 2012 London Olympics.

A revised later list may then also include players from Chelsea, following the Champions League Final on May 19^th, and team members of Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, who meet in the Copa Del Rey final on 25^th May.

A final list will be drawn up on 27^th May although Del Bosque revealed that he may wait until the 29^th - UEFA deadline for squad lists to be submitted - so as to give Villa as much time as possible to prove his fitness. The 61 year old told Marca.com, "We have an obligation and also a conviction that we should wait until the last moment in David's case because he has been our most reputable goal-scorer, the surest player, and we should wait, of course."

Regarding the currently out of favour Fernando Torres, Del Bosque refrained from hinting at whether or not he would re-instate him into the Spanish squad. The Chelsea man was dropped from the Spanish squad for the friendly against Venezuela in February after a dreadful run of form with the London outfit.

However, the striker ahs rediscovered the kind of form that saw him become captain of Athletico Madrid at just 19. The 28 year old scored a crucial goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final before netting a hat-trick against QPR the following weekend.

However, again speaking to Marca.com, Del Bosque said, "We look at every day's play but we don't make a definitive decision based on one day, we have to study the history of the players. He also added, "at the moment obviously I am not going to say whether Tom, Dick or Harry is coming to the team but we don't make a decision based on one single game."