Aitana Bonmati suffers broken leg in Spain training

Three-time Ballon D’Or winner sustains injury while training with Spain before women’s Nations League final second leg.

Barcelona women’s star player Aitana Bonmati is set to be sidelined for several months after suffering a leg fracture in training with the Spanish national team.

The three-time Ballon d’Or winner will miss Tuesday’s women’s Nations League final second leg against Germany and several matches for her club in the weeks ahead.

Catalan media said Bonmati would be sidelined for “a minimum of two months” as she heals from the injury sustained on Sunday, which could rise if she requires surgery.

The Spanish football federation said Bonmati finished the morning training session “in pain after a bad landing” during an accidental fall, before diagnosing her with “a fracture in her left fibula”.

“The player will return to Barcelona and her club to begin her recovery period,” it added.

Bonmati started for Spain on Friday in a 0-0 draw against Germany in the first leg of the Nations League final.

She is set to miss upcoming Champions League games against Benfica and Paris FC in December, as well as the Spanish Super Cup in January and various Liga F matches.

Barca lead the league by six points ahead of Real Sociedad, while they are joint top of the Champions League league phase table with French giants Lyon.

The fracture comes after a standout year for the 27-year-old, who became the first player to win the Women’s Ballon d’Or three times, helped Barcelona secure a domestic treble, and reached the Euro 2025 final with Spain – albeit to lose on penalties to England.

Spain coach Sonia Bermudez said on Monday that it will be a “huge loss” as Spain prepares to play in the second leg of the Nations League final.

“Yesterday the mood was a bit down because it’s hard when a teammate is injured. We hope she recovers as soon as possible,” she said.

“The team is fine and knows they’ll have all the support in the world. We want to dedicate the victory to those who are injured. Aitana wanted to be in the final with us, but we have to prioritize the players’ health.”

Spain captain Irene Paredes also lamented Bonmati’s injury.

“Absences like Aitana’s throw you off because nobody likes to see a teammate getting injured and suffering,” she said.

“But we’re going to move forward, we have other players and everyone is capable of contributing.”