Grimaldo sent home as illness disrupts Spain plans for England

Spain defender Alex Grimaldo has left the national team’s training camp with a fever and will miss the Nations League – League A meeting with England on 15 November 2026.

The Bayer Leverkusen left-back departed the squad’s base in Las Rozas on Saturday after developing flu symptoms while with the national team. The Royal Spanish Football Federation confirmed he had been removed from Luis de la Fuente’s squad and returned home to rest and recover.

Grimaldo was unable to complete the team’s latest training session. De la Fuente asked him to stop working because of his condition, after which Spain’s medical staff assessed the player and monitored his symptoms.

Following that assessment, the coaching and medical teams decided that Grimaldo should leave the camp rather than continue training with the rest of the group. He will now complete his recovery away from the squad.

The decision leaves De la Fuente without one of his options at left-back for the fixture against England. Spain will not call up a replacement, meaning the manager will prepare for the match with the players already in the squad.

Marc Cucurella is now the leading candidate to start on the left side of the defence, with Grimaldo unavailable and no new player being added to the group.