FC Barcelona has received bad news on the injured players front.
FC Barcelona has received bad news on the comeback of one of its key players according to AS, which cited anonymous sources.
Gavi and Barca’s world was turned upside down last November, when the midfielder ruptured his ACL while on international duty with Spain.
La Roja boss Luis de la Fuente was the target of Culers’ anger, after it was felt that the youngster didn’t really need to play the Nations League match against Georgia where the incident occurred, which was of little value in the grand scheme of things.
Gavi hasn’t been seen on a competitive football pitch since, with Xavi often complaining about missing the “heart and soul” of his team.
Though he was featured in Barca's first defeat of the season, and indeed wept after losing El Clasico 2-1 to Real Madrid at the Montjuic Stadium on October 28, his absence has coincided with a downturn in fortunes for the Blaugrana.
First they ceded the Spanish Super Cup he helped win in 2023 with a Player of the Match performance in Riyadh, by succumbing 4-1 to Los Blancos as Vinicius Jr. fired off a hat trick.
Then as the weeks and months progressed in 2024, so too went the La Liga crown clinched back in the spring of last year. With a painful exit from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain it also guaranteed that Xavi's men would end the season trophyless.
Gavi was particularly moved when Xavi announced he would step down on June 30. However, the club legend is now performing a U-turn and is agreeing to stay in his role until at least the same time next year when his contract expires. The number six will play under the most famous wearer of that iconic jersey in Catalonia once again.
A reunion, at least in terms of Xavi commanding Gavi from the dugout, will happen later than anticipated, however.
While it was previously thought that Gavi would be available at the start of next season, AS says that the 19-year-old is only “50% at the moment.”
“If there are no setbacks, he is expected to return between October and November,” the paper adds, and hopefully Barca will have gotten its 2024/2025 campaign off to a decent enough start so that the impact of not having him around won't be felt as strongly as witnessed this time around.
