Luca Zidane sidelined by physical problem; Ander Astralaga starts for Granada
- Ander Astralaga has gone back into Granada’s lineup because Luca Zidane is out with facial injuries, and the loanee just kept a clean sheet at Zaragoza. - Zidane’s setback is more serious than a vague knock — Granada Hoy says he suffered fractures to the jaw and chin after the Almería match. - With safety almost secured and four games left, Granada can use the run-in to judge short-term stopgaps and longer-term squad plans.
Granada’s goalkeeper situation has turned into a late-season squad test. Luca Zidane was Pacheta’s clear first choice, but a facial injury has pushed Ander Astralaga back into the XI just as Granada are close to sealing safety. That matters because these last few games are no longer only about points. They’re also about figuring out who helps next season and who was just passing through. ### What happened to Luca Zidane? This is not just “physical discomfort.” Zidane took a heavy accidental blow late in Granada’s game against Almería, left the pitch dazed and bleeding, and medical tests later showed fractures in both the jaw and chin. Granada Hoy framed it as a major setback, with no clear return date and a real chance that his league season is already over. ### Why is Astralaga starting now? Because Granada suddenly needed him again, and he delivered. Astralaga started the 0-1 win away to Real Zaragoza on May 1 and kept a clean sheet in a game Granada nicked at the death through Álex Sola. Afterward he said he was happy with the team’s work and with finishing the match without conceding — which, for a backup keeper coming in cold, is basically the perfect re-entry. ### Was Zidane really that established? Yes. Pacheta had stuck with him through the rough patches. Before this injury, Zidane had played 27 matches for Granada this season, conceded 33 goals, and kept nine clean sheets. Granada Hoy also noted that his numbers were better than last season’s and better than Astralaga’s current season line, which helps explain why the pecking order had looked settled before the collision. ### So is this only about covering an absence? Not really. The catch is that Astralaga is on loan from Barcelona and, by Granada Hoy’s reading, is not expected to stay next season. So every start now works on two levels. Granada need competence in goal right away, but they also need information — whether to keep leaning on the loanee, whether to look at academy keepers, and how much of the summer rebuild still has to be done. ### Why do these last matches matter so much? Because Granada are almost safe, but not fully done. Ideal’s Granada coverage says survival could become mathematically certain with a point against Córdoba or if Mirandés fail to beat Eibar. Once a team gets to that point, the mood changes. Results still matter, but selection choices start to tell you what the coach and club are really thinking about 2026-27. ### What does Astralaga seem to understand here? He sounds like someone treating this as both a chance and a responsibility. His line was simple: Granada want to finish the league as well as possible. That is standard player talk, sure, but it fits the moment. Granada are not chasing promotion and no longer look trapped in immediate danger, so professionalism in the run-in becomes the whole point. ### Does one clean sheet change the hierarchy? Probably not by itself. One good night in Zaragoza does not erase a season’s worth of trust in Zidane. But it does give Pacheta room. If Zidane is unavailable for the rest of the campaign, Astralaga now has a clean, recent proof point — one start, one win, one shutout — and that can shape how Granada manage the position over the final month. ### Bottom line This is a goalkeeper injury story on the surface, but it’s really a squad-planning story. Zidane’s fractures forced Granada into a change. Astralaga’s clean sheet made the change easier. Now the final four matches look less like a formality and more like an audition period.
