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The Mexican Federation announced that Jose Juan Macias will miss the friendlies against Panama and Nigeria after a muscle tear injury. There was speculation that he would miss the Olympic Games, which was later confirmed with a letter that the player posted on his personal twitter. This week there were strong rumors that Macias will be joining Spanish side Getafe, which is coached by ex-Pumas coach Michel. With Macias missing the Olympics, he will be able to join Getafe’s preseason completely should the move be made.
Jose Juan Macias had been one of the key players in the U24 process, although an injury prior to the CONCACAF Championship severely hampered his play. It not only had him miss the first match against Dominican Republic, but he never got his game together and ended up only scoring a penalty kick goal in the final against Honduras. This also carried to his season in Chivas, where after scoring six goals before the Olympic Qualifying Tournament he didn’t score again. Still Macias was expected to compete in the Olympic Games and was named to the preliminary squad. With the injury, Eduardo Aguirre is now set to be one of the strikers along with overage player Henry Martin to lead the attack in Tokyo 2020.
This week the news had been that Getafe’s coach Michel had asked to acquire Macias for his team. It has been clear that Macias has wanted to make the move to Europe, and it was said to be the main reason why he returned to Chivas after playing for Leon, where his Liga MX career took off. The high price tag that Leon would have had to pay to Chivas for him to be bought and remain in the club meant that if he stayed in Leon, a European team would have had to pay a lot and he would probably be priced out of a move to Europe. Thus it’s not a surprise that in the first strong move from a La Liga team, Macias would move. According to reports, that deal is set to be done and the injury might play a part in that. With Macias missing the Olympic games, this means he would be able to be doing preseason with Getafe from the start. While a muscle tear is serious, the recuperation time would have made him able to still play in the Olympic Games but apparently the move means they wouldn’t risk it. Instead they’ll settle on him missing them and Aguirre having his place assured. If Macias goes to Getafe, it should be a big boost to his career and should he do well, he would definitely move up in priority for the Senior Mexican National Team and a possible participation in the 2022 World Cup.