Pereira out of Valencia squad for Lille trip
Reuters - Tuesday 04 December 2012, 11:59
Portugal full-back Joao Pereira has dropped out of Valencia's squad to visit Lille in the Champions League after failing to recover from a calf strain in time, the club said on Tuesday.
Pereira was left behind as a precaution and will not be replaced, and joins Sergio Canales and Jeremy Mathieu on the injury list.
The 19-man squad is also without suspended top scorer Roberto Soldado and defender Antonio Barragan.
Valencia match delegate Salvador Gonzalez 'Voro', a former player and coach, steps up to take charge of the side on a temporary basis after the sacking Mauricio Pellegrino on the weekend.
Pellegrino's replacement Ernesto Valverde, who was presented on Monday, will not assume control of the team until Thursday and his first game at the helm will be away at Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Already qualified Valencia are level on 10 points with Bayern Munich in Champions League Group F, but second on head-to-head results between the sides.
They must pick up more points than Bayern, who host BATE Borisov, to finish first.