Hospitalised Valencia coach Marcelino has to grin and boar it

Iain Strachan

Hospitalised Valencia coach Marcelino has to grin and boar it image

Marcelino's journey from Valencia to Asturias for Christmas was interrupted by a brief visit to hospital after the coach's car collided with a boar.

It had already been a bad weekend for the 52-year-old, who watched his third-placed Valencia team lose 1-0 at home to former side Villarreal on Saturday.

La Liga leaders Barcelona earlier extended their advantage at the top of the table courtesy of a thumping 3-0 Clasico win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

And after failing to keep pace with the frontrunners, Marcelino's trip home was then sidetracked following the collision with a wild animal.

"This morning Marcelino Garcia Toral suffered a traffic accident while traveling back to Asturias, to spend the holidays with his family," Valencia said in a statement on the club's official website

"The accident occurred on the road from Logrono to Bilbao, when a boar crossed the road and collided with his vehicle. He was treated at the hospital and has already received medical discharge."

Iain Strachan