Barcelona hit with double blow in recovery of two key youngsters from surgery

Barcelona are building their next few years around a core of talented youngsters, but two key members of that core are recovering slower than first hoped from serious injuries. It was known that Gavi would miss the first few months of next season, but the teenager’s recovery looks as if it will come later rather than sooner, as is the case for Alejandro Balde.

The former suffered both an anterior cruciate ligament tear and a meniscus tear while playing for Spain last November, and was predicted to return in October or November. After he was seen training on the pitch recently, hopes he could be back towards the start of that period grew. Gavi will need at least a month to build fitness once he is fully recovered though, and now Diario AS say that the most optimistic outlook is that he could be back in mid-November, but it’s more likely Gavi returns well into December, over a year after his injury.

Flick doesn't see Gündogan as a pivot, but rather in a more advanced position behind Lewandowski. However, for that role he's behind Pedri in the pecking order, and the coach doesn't think they should both be playing. With this in mind, and the fact that the German international…

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 22, 2024

There is further concern over Alejandro Balde, who suffered a tendon tear and also underwent surgery at the turn of the year, and was expected to be recovered around June time. Marca report that his presence at the start of preseason (10th of July) is now highy unlikely, perhaps joining his colleagues again later on in July.

Barcelona look as if they will start preseason with returning loanee Alex Valle as their only fit left-back if that is the case, and certainly the Blaugrana are relying on Balde to be their first-choice for next season. It’s a lot of pressure to place on a young player with just one full senior season under his belt, when he had Jordi Alba and Marcos Alonso for competition, and relies on his pace to cause problems for the opposition.