Spanish attacking midfielder Dani Olmo has been excluded from the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria due to an injury, the local football federation announced on Friday.

The 27-year-old Barcelona forward trained in preparation for the match against Georgia on Saturday, but after medical examinations, he was diagnosed with a muscle injury in his left leg, prompting the Spanish federation to announce his return to Barcelona while the rest of the team travels to Elche to continue their qualification efforts.

The “La Roja” team, coached by Luis de la Fuente, can secure a spot in next year’s finals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada if they win two consecutive matches during this international window, provided other results in Group 5 go in their favor.

De la Fuente responded to predictions of his team’s World Cup victory by saying he wants his players to focus on the task at hand, stating, “I’m not worried about anything. First, let’s qualify. Then we’ll think about winning the World Cup.”

He added, “We need to remove the excitement from defeats and results. Winning the tournament is extremely difficult.”

Spain leads their group with a perfect record of 6 points, three points ahead of Georgia and Turkey in second and third place respectively, after opening their campaign with two crushing away wins against Turkey 6-0 and Bulgaria 3-0 last month.