Una lesión leve obligó a una defensa a salir del campo.

A slight injury forced a defender to leave the field.

Breakdown of Una lesión leve obligó a una defensa a salir del campo.

• una: a
• a: to
• salir: to leave
• del: from the

Questions & Answers about Una lesión leve obligó a una defensa a salir del campo.

What does lesión mean here? Is it a false friend?

Yes, it can be a bit of a false friend. In Spanish, lesión very commonly means injury, especially in medical or sports contexts.

So una lesión leve means a minor/slight injury.

In English, lesion sounds more medical and narrower, but in Spanish lesión is a normal everyday word for an injury.

Why is leve after lesión?

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• una lesión leve = a minor injury

This is the most neutral, standard order. Putting leve before the noun would sound unusual here.

What does defensa mean in this sentence?

Here, defensa means defender, as in a sports player, especially in football/soccer.

So:

• una defensa = a female defender

In other contexts, defensa can also mean:

• defence
• protection
• defense in the legal or argumentative sense

But salir del campo makes the sports meaning clear here.