Nacho Monreal has picked up a muscle injury and missed Spain’s latest training session.

The Arsenal defender was one of only a handful of players who could hold their heads up after last season’s awful campaign and was rightly rewarded with a call-up for the World Cup in Russia that is due to start in 14 days.

According to both Mundo Deportivo and Sport in Spain, Monreal missed Spain’s third World Cup training session, absent due to ‘sore muscles’.

Although he did not take part in training with the rest of the team, he did retreat to the gym to continue working alongside Dani Carvajal, who is trying to overcome the injury he picked up against Liverpool in the Champions League final last weekend.

Spain play Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichtsteiner’s Switzerland on Sunday at the Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal.

They will then face Tunisa on 9 June before their tournament opener against Portugal, on 15 June, in what is sure to be a cracking match.

There is no indication, at the time of writing, that Monreal’s problem will impact him for the World Cup.