Spain hopeful of Nico Williams return in time for 2026 World Cup

Spain are one of the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup, which takes place in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer. Luis de la Fuente’s side have been almost flawless over the last three years, and after winning Euro 2024, they will be keen to become world champions at the first time of asking.

Spain have an abundance of talent to choose from, which means that de la Fuente’s task of selecting his World Cup squad will be difficult. One of the names he will have high on his list is Nico Williams, who has been excellent on the international stage during the current era, although there have been doubts about whether he will be able to play in North America.

Williams has been suffering with pubalgia since September, and unlike Spain teammate Lamine Yamal, he has been unable to shake the issue. He’s currently sidelined in the hopes of recovering as soon as possible, and as per Diario AS, his international manager de la Fuente is hopeful of his return sooner rather than later.

“Nico is in that evolution. Now he feels much better with these two weeks of treatment he has had. It still seems that he has one specific treatment left. Surely he will arrive just right – it may be too soon for La Finalissima, but he should be back for the World Cup if he continues in that process. If he does not have any other setbacks, if he does not have a setback in his recovery he has to arrive in phenomenal shape.”

The race is on for Williams to be fit for World Cup

There is no doubt that Williams can be available for the 2026 World Cup, but the question is whether he can completely shake off his pubalgia ahead of this summer’s tournament. If so, he could have a big say in whether La Roja become world champions for the second time.