Rafa Mir included in Valencia travelling squad for Mallorca clash

Valencia striker Rafa Mir travelled to Mallorca on Friday with the rest of his teammates, although the striker is not included in Ruben Baraja's list of called-up players, which includes the presence of young centre-back Íker Córdoba and Pepelu, back from suspension. Mir played his last game on 31 August, hours before he was arrested as the alleged perpetrator of a sexual assault after being in a discotheque.

Mir was released with precautionary measures after testifying before the judge, but Baraja decided not to call him up for the following matches as a punishment for not having complied with the timetable.

Since then, the player has had several muscular problems that have kept him out of the group, although, this week, he has completed practically all the training sessions. Baraja said on Thursday that the Copa del Rey match against Ejea ‘could be an option’ for his return. Baraja travelled to Mallorca without Thierry Rendall, Mouctar Diakhaby and centre-back Maximiliano Caufriez, all of whom are injured.

On the other hand, Baraja will be able to count on Pepelu once he has served his two-match ban after his sending-off against Las Palmas. He also called up centre-back COrdoba, one of the three reserve team players who made their first team debut in this week's Copa del Rey clash against Escuelas Parla.