It has been a difficult few weeks for Barcelona in terms of injuries, with several first team players having had various issues to deal with. Fortunately, they are now on the home straight in this regard, with Pedri being the latest to make his return during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Real Sociedad.
Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha have all also recovered from injuries, meaning that Xavi Hernandez almost has his full squad to choose from for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk, during which Barcelona can secure their place in the knockout stages of the competition.
However, they are again without Frenkie de Jong for the trip to Hamburg, with the midfielder still recovering from an ankle injury. Equally, club captain Sergi Roberto also remains missing for Barcelona.
👥 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
✈️ #ShakhtarBarça pic.twitter.com/973pQmRfLB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 5, 2023
Gavi returns for Barcelona after missing the victory over Shakhtar on MD3 due to suspension. It is a reduced squad that Xavi has named, with only Ander Astralaga and Marc Casado being the only youth players to be included.
At this stage, Barcelona are taking no risks with de Jong’s recovery. The expectation is that he could return at the end of November, meaning that he could be in contention to play in the club’s Champions League against Porto at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
