Villalba: Plagued by injuries

Julio Villalba is leaving Borussia after four years at the club. The Paraguayan has been unfortunate to suffer several injuries and has only made two competitive appearances for the Foals.

The Foals signed Julio Villalba from Cerro Porteno in the winter of 2017 before loaning the then-18-year-old back to his hometown club for the rest of the season. The Paraguayan made his Bundesliga debut on matchday three of the 2017/18 season, coming on as a substitute shortly before the end of the game against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Tough times were to follow for Villalba. The 22-year-old has been plagued by numerous injuries and has never been able to get a real foothold in the team. The striker was loaned to SCR Altach for six months last season in order to get more match practice, though he only made eight appearances for the Austrian club. Villalba played just once more following his return to Gladbach, featuring in the latter stages and scoring a penalty in the 5-0 win over SV Elversberg in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

Villalba then suffered another injury set-back before returning to action for Borussia U23s in a 3-0 friendly win in April. He started the game and played half an hour in attack, but there were no more first-team appearances to come. Villalba’s time with the Foals has now come to an end after four years. The striker always fought back from his injuries with an iron will and we wish him all the best for the future!