Spain to wait on Villa

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said Friday he will leave a space on the UEFA EURO 2012 squad until the last moment for David Villa to see if he recovers from his broken leg. Villa, dubbed "King David" for his 51 goals in 82 internationals, fractured his left tibia in Barcelona's FIFA Club World Cup semi-final win over Al Sadd in Japan on 15 December.

Del Bosque said he had spoken to Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola for an update on 30-year-old Villa's recovery. "I last spoke to his current coach yesterday. He told me how he is," the Spain coach told a news conference in Madrid. "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."

Spain will publish a provisional list on 15 May including those going to the EURO and the London Olympics, he said. Later, Del Bosque said, the team will decide on possible players from Chelsea who face Bayern Munich on 19 May, and then those from Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao who clash in the domestic Copa del Rey final on 25 May.

A definitive list will be drawn up 27 May, Del Bosque said, but Spain could still wait to bring in Villa right up until the UEFA deadline on 29 May. 

Del Bosque refused to say whether he would bring on Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, whose last-gasp equaliser against Barcelona on 24 April shattered the Catalans' hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League final. "We look at every day's play but we don't make a definitive decision based on one day," he said.

"We have to study the history of the players," the coach 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."