Zapata to miss five weeks

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido will be without defender Cristian Zapata for five weeks because of a knee injury.

Zapata picked up the injury in his side’s 2-0 La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Although the Colombia international played out the full 90 minutes against Rayo, he complained about pain in his knee afterwards and visited hospital on Monday to undergo a further examination.

Scans revealed Zapata has sprained the ligaments in his right knee and is set to miss around five weeks due to the knock.

Zapata joined Villarreal from Udinese in the off-season transfer window and has so far made nine La Liga appearances for his new side.

The news will serve as a severe blow to Villarreal, struggling in 13th place in La Liga, who were also recently informed that star forward Giuseppe Rossi will be out for most of the season with a knee injury.