February 25, (THEWILL) – Barcelona’s hopes of keeping Ansu Fati fit and healthy for the rest of the season have taken a blow after the 20-year-old was ruled out of Sunday’s clash with Almeria due to a knee injury.
While the club described it as a “bruise,” the Spanish media have noted that the issue is in the same knee that caused Fati to miss a significant amount of time between 2020 and 2022. However, Barcelona manager, Xavi, is playing down the severity of the injury and remains hopeful that the winger will be back in time for Thursday’s El Clasico clash against Real Madrid.
“We hope that Fati will be ready for El Clasico on Thursday,” Xavi told the media on Saturday. Xavi also provided an update on Ousmane Dembele’s injury, revealing that the Frenchman is “fine” and close to a return to team training.
However, the Manager stressed that Dembele is not yet 100% ready and that his return date will depend on his recovery. “We trust his instincts, he’s fine and that’s important,” Xavi said.
Despite the setbacks with Fati and Dembele, Barcelona received some positive news regarding Ronald Araujo. The defender was substituted in the dying moments of the recent defeat to Manchester United, but Xavi has confirmed that the Uruguayan is fit and available for selection. “Araujo is fine, he’s trained well, and he’s available,” Xavi said.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
