Xavi Hernandez revealed that he has a plan for Pedri during his pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona’s clash with Valencia in La Liga on Sunday afternoon at Mestalla.
The teenager played an incredible amount of minutes last season, serving as an undisputed starter for Barcelona during the club season as well as forming an important part of the Spanish national team’s midfield at Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games.
“We’re going to try to stop him from suffering from fatigue,” Xavi said in comments carried by Diario Sport.
“Pedri is very important but he also needs rest. We’re going to try to take care of him so that he doesn’t get injured. He’s at a very high level and the other day he played a great game. We have to take care of him, like we do with everyone else.”
Pedri, who’s just returned from an injury that saw him miss the majority of the first part of the season, is expected to start for Barcelona at Mestalla. It’s a big game; Barcelona go into the tie off the back of their 1-1 draw with Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday evening and are currently fifth in La Liga after Villarreal beat Granada 4-1 at Los Carmenes earlier this afternoon.
Pedri has played five games and scored one goal for Barcelona in La Liga this season. In Europe he’s made three appearances, two in the Champions League and one in the Europa League.
