When eleven months have passed since the serious knee injury he suffered while defending the colors of ‘La Roja’, Gavi can come out at the end of the tunnel. If everything goes according to plan, the young midfielder, whom Barça de Xavi Surely, he missed last year a lot, he will receive a medical discharge and will be on the squad list for the duel against Sevilla.
Gavi’s return will not be the only good news for the team now led by the German Hansi Flick. Fermin y Dani Olmo who are already exercising normally with the group after overcoming their latest ailments, and the Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny relief of the injured Ter Stegen and who have already completed their private preseason, could also be part of the squad for tomorrow’s match, the first of a steeper slope for the Blaugrana. The duel against Bayern, next Wednesday, will be the prelude to the first big classic against Real Madrid, which will be played in seven days at the Bernabéu.
The diagnosis that was made official on November 20, 2023, one day after Gavi was injured in the match between Spain and Georgia corresponding to the qualifying phase for the last Euro Cup, was completely devastating: complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee with an associated injury to the lateral meniscus. It was time to go through the operating room. And arm yourself with patience. So that the young midfielder could return to the maximum of his possibilities, it was decided to give him all the time in the world.
“It’s amazing to see him work”
The same attitude that has also been applied, for example, in the injury of Marc Bernalwho will have to wait practically a year to play an official match again. The parallels, of course, are inevitable. Not in vain, this 17-year-old Barça youth player suffered the same type of injury, although in his case, in his left leg.
Gavi has had to experience the bitterest side of football. First, he spent about eight months exercising alone, combining work in the gym with some sessions on the beach, an ideal environment to strengthen his leg muscles. Until, in July, he was able to return to the grass of the Joan Gamper Sports City. Flick, of course, did not hesitate to praise his determination, his drive during the recovery period. After all, those are its clearest signs of identity. “It’s incredible to see him work,” said the German in the hours before the league opener against Valencia.
“I don’t want to put pressure on him”
But, at the same time, he also wanted to ask for patience. The fundamental thing was not to take risks to prevent all the work done from going to waste due to a relapse. «I don’t want to put pressure on him. He is very young, he has many years left and we have to take care of him,” he stressed then.
With his more than presumed return to a Barça call-up, if there are no last-minute unforeseen events, together with the returns of Fermín and Dani Olmo, the coach will be able to count on an absolutely gala midfield. And that another young footballer, Marc Casadó who has established himself in the core, has also made it very clear that it is a bet with a lot of promise. For the German coach, having to choose from now on which players will be in the midfield, of course, will be a blessed problem.