Athletic Club striker Igor breaks leg

Athletic Club Bilbao will be without striker Igor Martinez for two months after it was revealed he had broken a bone in his right leg. Martinez, who joined Athletic from Alaves at the start of last season, was introduced into the 1-0 defeat away to Malaga on Wednesday night as a second half substitute, however, he had to leave the match after just 16 minutes after receiving a heavy challenge. He was replaced by Gaizka Toquero. It had been initially thought that Martinez had merely suffered bruising, but tests carried out on Thursday showed that he has broken a bone and will be out of action until early December. The loss of Martinez is the second injury setback that Basque side has suffered this season: two weeks ago, Athletic lost their summer signing Ander Herrera. Herrera damaged knee ligaments in the 2-1 defeat away to Espanyol and after undergoing an operation, he will be sidelined for a further six weeks. Meanwhile Athletic are struggling in the BBVA Primera Liga. After finishing sixth last season and signing Ander, great things were expected of the Basque side this campaign. However, the club has struggled to adapt to the methods of new coach Marcelo Bielsa, who has tried to totally alter their style of play from a rapid physical approach traditionally favored by the club and its fans, into a passing style more reminiscent of FC Barcelona. Bielsa has used players out of position and after drawing their opening match of thr season, Athletic have suffered three straight defeats and have just one point from four matches. It is their worst start to a campaign since 1979. The Basques entertain Villarreal on Saturday night and another defeat will only serve to increase the pressure on Bielsa.