Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has disclosed that Iñaki Williams is currently unavailable after undergoing surgery to remove a two-centimetre glass shard from his foot. The 29-year-old striker is now a major doubt for Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR).
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Williams, known for his remarkable injury record since debuting for Athletic Bilbao, set a record by playing in 251 consecutive matches. However, he has missed some recent games for both club and country and has also been ruled out of Athletic Bilbao’s final game of the season against Rayo Vallecano later today.
Addressing journalists at a pre-match press conference, Valverde revealed the surprising discovery that Williams had been playing with a glass shard in his foot for two years. The forward had suffered an accident during which he stepped on glass, piercing his foot.
Valverde explained that although Williams initially recovered from the injury, it was recently discovered that a part of the glass remained embedded in his foot.
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“We did a scan after the final, and we discovered that he still had some glass in his foot. When they stitched him up the first time, they left the glass in there,” Valverde said, as quoted by Football Espana. “In addition, it’s not a small piece, it’s about 2cm. It was next to a bone or a tendon, but we had to extract it. The truth is that myself and the doctor were laughing because we couldn’t believe it.”
Williams has now undergone surgery to remove the glass, which has rendered him unavailable for immediate play. This situation puts him in a race against time to be fit for Ghana’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
The Black Stars are scheduled to travel to Bamako to face Mali on June 6 before playing against CAR four days later at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi. Williams’ absence could be a significant blow for Ghana, as his presence and experience are crucial to their World Cup qualification campaign.
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