Aitana Bonmatí admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with viral meningitis just days before their Euros campaign.
Before the Euros, Spain will have to wait anxiously to see if two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí is available after manager Montse Tomé revealed the midfielder has viral meningitis.
After Spain defeated Japan 3-1 in a pre-tournament friendly, Bonmatí shared a picture of herself watching the game from a hospital bed with a cannula in her arm. Tomé told the Spanish media that “we can’t talk about deadlines” for the key Barcelona player’s comeback.
“The doctors say that it is controlled, talking about meningitis can be scary but it is controlled,” said Tomé. “Aitana will be admitted and there are no deadlines yet to know for how long [she will be absent for].”
According to the Spanish Football Federation, Bonmatí had been undergoing medical testing following a fever. More thorough testing was done after the fever didn’t go away, according to reports from Spain, and it was determined that she had viral meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. As opposed to bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis is more prevalent and is brought on by an infection. The NHS states that viral meningitis usually resolves on its own in seven to ten days.
In just six days, Spain will play Portugal in the opening match of their Euro 2025 campaign on July 3. After that, they play Italy on July 11 and Belgium on July 7.
In October, Bonmatí won the Ballon d’Or for the second time in a row, garnering nearly twice as many votes as Caroline Graham Hansen, the award’s closest competitor. The technically talented midfielder helped Spain win the Women’s World Cup in 2023 and won the sixth league title and fifth Supacopa de España this season. However, Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Barcelona in this year’s final prevented them from winning the Champions League for the fourth time.
“Aitana, for us, is a very important player, we will wait for her yes as long as we can,” said Tomé. “The information I have told you is what I have and I am not going to explain more, if I said something more I would be wrong.”