Ronald Araujo has been a pillar of the Barcelona defence this season, but he’s received bad news in the injury department after being forcibly substituted on Sunday evening at Real Betis.
The Uruguayan centre back suffered a severe sprain in his left ankle, something that calls for three or four weeks out. Araujo, however, wants to risk his fitness by trying to return for the first leg of the last 16 Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain according to Mundo Deportivo.
PSG are loaded with attacking talent, able to draw upon the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi. Araujo doesn’t want to miss the game and the challenge of facing up to such elite forwards, and so is willing to push himself and play through the pain barrier. The next 48 hours, where the degree of pain and swelling will be high, is pivotal in understanding whether he can achieve this ambition.
If Araujo is absent Ronald Koeman has three natural centre backs for the two spots in Clement Lenglet, Oscar Mingueza and Samuel Umtiti. Frenkie de Jong has also filled in there, as he did on Sunday night at the Benito Villamarin after Araujo came off injured. Araujo actually suffered the same fate last season, but he managed to return to training just ten days later.
BAD NEWS
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