Wife says Victor Valdes is having "very difficult time"

The wife of Spanish goalkeeper Victor Valdes has claimed that her husband is having "a very difficult time" recovering from a serious knee injury.

The 32-year-old is still officially contracted to Barcelona, but will leave the Spanish outfit on a free transfer next month.

The stopper did not feature in the latter part of the 2013-14 campaign after picking up a long-term knee injury, which ultimately required surgery.

"Victor is have a very difficult time because he suffered a significant injury that requires several months of recovery. That's frustrating for him and the crutches are killing him. He is in a hurry to get the off but he can't rush the process," Yolanda Cardona told El Mundo.

"In Germany (where Valdes is receiving treatment), they are happy because the injury is progressing well. The injury is unfortunate because it threw a lot of our plans into flux.

"We cannot live separated. We're all going together, which is a shame, because we all love Barcelona. I can't talk about his new team, just in case it doesn't work out, even though it's practically a done deal. It's very close, so we'll be coming and going."

It is widely understood that Valdes will join Monaco.