De la Fuente pointed to the example of Dani Olmo at Euro 2024 to explain his patience with injured players ahead of major tournaments.
"He arrived at the Euro 2024 training camp almost injured, which is unpredictable," the coach admitted. "We were close to leaving him out, and then Dani Olmo proved to be a key player in the tournament."
The Spain boss continued: "He was the top scorer, he gave that pass to Mikel Merino, he cleared Germany's goal off the line. And he knew he could have easily gone home because he had a problem with his calf. We decided to stick it out and it worked out well."