Earlier this month, Ansu Fati made his early-anticipated return for Barcelona, coming on as a late substitute in the Champions League defeat at AS Monaco. Under Hansi Flick, the 21-year-old forward has been backed to re-capture the form he showed pre-ACL injury, which had made him one of the most exciting young players on the planet.
Survey: How would you rate Iñaki Peña's performance last night on a scale of 1 to 10? 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/lU05vZ8geV
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However, Fati has not played a single minute since that Monaco cameo – and this continued on Saturday at El Sadar. As per MD, he was supposed to come on in the latter stages, but Sergi Dominguez’s discomfort meant that Hector Fort had to be drafted instead, much to the young attacker’s frustration.
It means that Fati is still yet to make an appearance in La Liga since coming off the bench in Barcelona’s 4-3 victory at Villarreal in August 2023. A few days after that match, he was sent on loan to Brighton for the 2023-24 season.
Fati’s start to the season was delayed by a foot injury suffered during pre-season, but he should now be back at 100% after being in full training for the last couple of weeks. He could have an opportunity against Young Boys on Tuesday, with his next chance in La Liga being against next weekend when Barcelona travel to Alaves.
