Berlin, Jun 14 (IANS): Spain central defender Aymeric Laporte has been sidelined with a muscle problem, as his side is preparing for their 2024 UEFA Euro opening game against Croatia on Saturday.

The French-born stopper missed Thursday's training session to carry out recovery work on a problem, although the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has informed that he will travel to Berlin with the rest of the squad on Friday ahead of the game, reports Xinhua.

Although he will be with the squad, Laporte is almost certain to miss the game, with either Nacho Fernandez or Dani Vivian likely to partner Robin le Normand in the heart of the Spain defense.

Laporte was one of the last players to join the Spain squad after finishing the season late in Saudi Arabia. He played just over 40 minutes in Spain's 5-1 win over Northern Ireland last Saturday, his first competitive minutes since May 23 when he was shown a red card while playing for Al-Nassr.