Ansu Fati splitting his time between Madrid and Barcelona as return to action nears

Ansu Fati has returned to the Ciutat Esportiva de Sant Joan Despi after spending four days in Madrid working on his recovery according to Mundo Deportivo.

Fati has been out-of-action since November, when he suffered an injury playing for Barcelona against Real Betis at Camp Nou.

The 18-year-old is now in the final stages of his recovery and is expected to be part of Ronald Koeman’s squad for pre-season.

For the moment, Fati will continue with the rhythm of spending four days of the week in Madrid and three in Barcelona.

He was present for Joan Laporta’s address to the squad on Monday, but then travelled north to work with Joaquin Juan and Raul Martinez, two highly-respected physiotherapists.

Martinez is also La Roja’s physio, and has worked closely with Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in the past as well as legends like Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol.

Juan is similarly well-qualified, having worked with Pau Gasol, Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo in the past.

Barcelona are treading very carefully when re-introducing Fati into the first-team picture. The last thing they want to do is force his return and set his recovery back even further.

Fati is a fundamental part of Barcelona’s future, and both Koeman and sporting director Mateu Alemany have let him know it. He’s unlikely to make the mid-August season opener, but he’s been guaranteed an important role at Camp Nou for years to come.