Antonio Valencia nearly fractures his left ankle again

Posted Thursday, July 07, 2011 by theguardian.com

• Valencia damaged left ankle in Ecuador's draw with Paraguay
• Manchester United winger will miss next Copa América match

$Antonio Valencia nearly fractures his left ankle again$
Antonio Valencia, right, was replaced after 45 minutes after injuring his left ankle playing for Ecuador against Paraguay.

The Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia came close to a recurrence of the injury that severely disrupted his last season and will miss Ecuador's second Copa América Group B match, against Paraguay on Saturday.

After missing six months of United's title-winning campaign with a dislocated and broken left ankle Valencia may have feared another lengthy spell on the sidelines after damaging the same joint in the 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Santa Fe on Sunday.

"[His opponent] stepped on his foot and very nearly fractured it again," said Ecuador's team doctor, Tony Ocampo.

"He has a bruise on the spot where he has a titanium plate, he couldn't put his weight on his foot, but the swelling has gone down about 40% since Sunday. He won't make it for Saturday but he'll be there for Brazil [on 13 July]."