Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has been hospitalised with viral meningitis, missing her country’s 3-1 friendly victory over Japan in Leganes on Friday evening.
The 27-year-old Barcelona player, who has claimed the Ballon d’Or for the past two years, was taken to a Madrid hospital after feeling unwell. She also missed Thursday’s training session.
The diagnosis comes less than a week before the Women’s European Championship begins in Switzerland on Wednesday.
Spain, the reigning world champions, are scheduled to face Portugal in their opening Group B match in Bern on Thursday.
Aitana Bonmati has won the Ballon d’Or for the last two years in a row but has given Spain cause to worry ahead of Euro 2025
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Bonmati shared a photograph on Instagram showing herself watching Friday’s match from her hospital bed.
Spain’s head coach Montse Tome addressed the situation at a press conference following the Japan match.
“She’s an extremely important player for us and we will wait for her, no matter what, as long as we have to,” the coach stated.
The two-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year winner did not train on Thursday and was taken to hospital on Friday with doctors from the Spanish Football Federation, who later confirmed the diagnosis.
Spain also face Belgium and Italy in Group B at Euro 2025. The team have never reached the final of the continental championship, making the semi-finals only once in 1997.
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Aitana Bonmati is one of Spain’s most key players
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Viral meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
According to the NHS, it is less serious than bacterial meningitis and typically improves on its own within seven to 10 days.
Bonmati has been instrumental in Spain’s recent successes, playing a key role in their 2023 World Cup triumph over England in the final and their Nations League victory last year.
The midfielder has scored 30 goals in 78 appearances for Spain since making her debut in 2017.
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She claimed both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Women’s Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024.
Her absence would be a significant blow to Spain’s European Championship ambitions.
The team are seeking their first continental title, having reached the semi-finals only once in their history back in 1997.
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