Rome, 28 June (LaPresse/AP) – Spain women's midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, twice winner of the Ballon d'Or, has been hospitalised with viral meningitis less than a week before the start of the Women's European Championship. Spain coach Montse Tomé said on Friday evening that her national team star had fallen ill and was taken to a hospital in Madrid where she tested positive for meningitis. The Spanish team will travel to Switzerland on Sunday for the European Championship. Their first match will be against Portugal on Thursday in Bern. ‘Aitana is a very important player for us and we will wait for her,’ Tomé said after Bonmatí missed Friday's friendly against Japan in the Spanish capital, with Spain beating the visitors 3-1. The 27-year-old Bonmatí has won the top individual award in women's football for the past two years. The Barcelona player was instrumental in Spain's victory at the 2023 Women's World Cup.
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