Athletic Club’s talismanic captain Iñaki Williams has laid bare the emotional toll of his brother’s persistent injury struggles, admitting the winger is “pissed off” as his season hangs in the balance.
Speaking to the media, the elder Williams brother offered a raw and unfiltered assessment of the situation.
His comments have cast a significant shadow over Nico’s availability for next month’s Finalissima and ignited fresh fears regarding his fitness for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
The 23-year-old Nico Williams has been “dragging” a chronic case of pubalgia—a complex and painful groin condition—since the opening weeks of the campaign.
While Iñaki is legendary for his own historic physical durability, he has had a front-row seat to his younger brother’s deteriorating condition and the mental fatigue that comes with chronic pain.
“He’s pissed off; he’s been carrying discomfort since September,” Iñaki confessed during the interview.
“It’s true that with the pubis, some days you’re very good and the next you’re bad. I already commented last week that he had told me that he was beginning to see the light… And now it seems that it is two or three steps back.”
The timing is particularly cruel for the younger Williams. While Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal successfully navigated a similar issue earlier this term, Nico has suffered a frustrating relapse.
With only seven goal contributions in 26 appearances across all competitions, the spark that made him one of Europe’s most feared wingers has been dampened by the physical limitations of his own body.
With the situation reaching a breaking point, Athletic Club has shifted its medical strategy.
The goal is to avoid the operating table, which would almost certainly end Nico’s dreams of representing Spain in the United States, Mexico, and Canada this summer.
Instead, the medical team is banking on a reduced fixture list to save his season.
Iñaki explained that the current “weekend-to-weekend” schedule is the best-case scenario for a recovery without surgery.
This plan involves Nico “dosing himself” throughout the week, focusing on intensive physiotherapy and conservative treatments while avoiding the high-intensity training sessions that typically aggravate the pubic bone.
The hope is that by only competing on matchdays, he can manage the pain long enough to reach the end of the domestic campaign.
For the Spanish national team and manager Luis de la Fuente, Iñaki’s honesty serves as a major red flag.
Nico Williams was expected to be a cornerstone of the attack this summer, but his inclusion now hinges on his body’s response to this final month of rehabilitation.
Despite the setback, the elder Williams remains the family’s rock, reinforcing the idea that patience is the only path forward.
For now, the San Mamés faithful and the Spanish national side must wait to see if Nico can finally find the “light” that his brother so desperately hopes for before the plane departs for the Americas.
