Villa given time to prove fitness

Madrid, May 5 (IANS) Spain's football coach Vicente del Bosque said he will wait till the last minute for striker David Villa's return from injury for the Euro 2012 Championship.

Bosque said Friday that he would not reveal his 23-man squad for Euro 2012 until May 27. He was originally expected to give the list four days earlier.

"We have an obligation and also a conviction that we should wait until the last moment in David's case because he has been our most reputable goal scorer, the surest player and we should wait, of course," Bosque was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Villa, who has scored 51 goals in 82 caps for the ational team, fractured his left tibia in Barcelona's Club World Cup semifinal win over Al Sadd in Japan Dec 15, and is yet to play since the surgery.

Spain's bid to become the first team to defend their title after winning the World Cup begins with the Group C opener against Italy June 10.