Major injury blow for Villarreal

Villarreal have confirmed that defender Gonzalo Rodriguez will miss the remainder of the season after tearing ankle ligaments.

The Argentine international sustained the injury in Good Friday's 1-0 defeat at Barcelona.

He was forced from the pitch after just 19 minutes at Camp Nou and was instantly discarded for the first leg of Villarreal's UEFA Champions League semi-final with Arsenal.

The Spaniards were hoping the stopper had only sustained heavy bruising to his left ankle, but tests have now confirmed a ligament tear meaning he will miss the remainder of the season.

The impressive 24-year-old is likely to be sidelined for around two months meaning his chances of claiming a place in Argentina's World Cup squad have also taken a major blow.

Rodriguez has five international caps to date and would have been hoping to force his way into coach Jose Pekerman's plans this summer after another excellent campaign for Villarreal.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Submarines have also confirmed that Bolivian defender Juan Manuel Pena is a doubt for the second leg of the Arsenal tie.

Like Rodriguez, Pena too was injured in the game at Barca and having strained knee ligaments was ruled out of the first leg at Highbury on Wednesday.

However, he is facing a race against time to make the return game meaning that coach Manuel Pellegrini has huge defensive headaches ahead of the showdown with the North Londoners.

"We have a lot of injury problems for the games with Arsenal," he conceded.