Athletic Club have begun an unusual international-break schedule with only one of their three first-team goalkeepers available for training and seven players away on national-team duty.
The squad returned to work on Wednesday, but will have only three training sessions during the break before being given two days off. The situation will become even more limited over the next two days, when five further players join the Basque team for Saturday’s friendly against Venezuela.
Until Friday, Terzic is expected to have only Aitor Paredes, Yeray, Benat Prados, Berenguer, I.Williams, Jesus Areso, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Berchiche, Alejandro Rego, Nico Serrano and Robert Navarro available for his sessions.
Five of those players selected by Jagoba Arrasate took part in different drills during Wednesday’s workout. Dani Vivian, Hugo Rincon, Joahneko, Mikel Jauregizar and Sancet will join the Basque team’s squad for joint training on Thursday.
The limited numbers have left the coaching staff working with the smallest group of the season. Athletic Club’s B-team players are concentrating on their own weekend fixtures rather than supplementing the first-team sessions.
The squad was split into three groups at Lezama as the club began a week focused primarily on physical conditioning. Training loads are being adjusted to reflect the individual requirements of each player.
Benat Prados, Alejandro Rego and Nico Serrano are among those currently short of playing time and will follow separate programmes. Nico Serrano is also set to miss the match against Osasuna.
The club are monitoring Aitor Paredes, who missed the most recent match because of muscle problems. The coaching staff hope to bring him back into full training as soon as possible.
Maroan will need longer before he can resume full sessions with the squad. He is expected to be the next player to return from the injury list to full team training.
