Barcelona were dealt a crushing blow on Sunday night, as star midfielder Gavi was ruled out for the rest of the season with anterior cruciate ligament tear. There is some good news this Monday for the Blaugrana though.
The other midfielder that could perhaps have claimed to be the best in Blaugrana this season, Frenkie de Jong, is close to returning. The Dutchman has been out since the end of September after leaving their match against Celta Vigo, returned to training today, as per Sport.
De Jong, whose absence has hit Barcelona’s performance hard, is back working with the group, and likely to be available for their clash against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday at Vallecas, even if his presence would be limited to starting from the bench.
🚨 Ter Stegen will be available for the match against Rayo Vallecano. @fansjavimiguel pic.twitter.com/kJJcCMFIJS
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 20, 2023
Meanwhile Marc-Andre ter Stegen also looks as if he will shake off a back problem that saw him sent home from the Germany camp on Friday. Diario AS believe he will be fit to face Rayo too.
With Ilkay Gundogan playing copious amounts of minutes, Oriol Romeu struggling to play twice a week, and Pedri still getting back to full speed, even having another option off the bench could be vital for Xavi Hernandez, with the pressure on to improve performances. Fermin Lopez will no doubt be key in the coming months following Gavi’s injury too, but de Jong could alter the face of the Barcelona midfield ahead of an important run.
