BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 24: Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona reacts during the LaLiga Santander match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Camp Nou on October 24, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Ansu Fati (R) is substituted with Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Kun Aguero during the Spanish League football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on October 24, 2021. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
Barcelona travel to Madrid to take on Rayo Vallecano with a number of absences. The Catalan side released their squad list with the glaring omission of Frenkie de Jong who aggravated his hamstring injury in the loss to Real Madrid.
Ansu Fati, who was taken off for Sergio Aguero, also picked up a knock but was included on the list to travel.
However, that does not mean he is going to play.
The Barcelona manager is going to have to rotate to find solutions up front
According to Sport, Fati is going to be a doubt until the last minute to see whether or not he makes the trip. The last thing the club wants or needs is for his injury to get worse and miss more time. They are already going through that with Pedri.
The bit of good news is manager Ronald Koeman said the injury is not to his recently operated knee.
“Ansu had some discomfort but not on the injury he previously had,” Koeman said. “He is still a doubt. He is on the list and tomorrow morning we will decide if he travels with us.”
Source: Sport
Just as it seems Barcelona are finally starting to get healthy, a new player goes down. Fati wasn’t the only player to come out of El Clasico injured. Gerard Pique played the match with an injury as did Jordi Alba.
Again, one has to imagine Barcelona being extra careful Fati. He recently signed a new contract and is seen as one of the building blocks for the future.
What this means for Koeman is he is going to have to get a little creative with how he sets his team up. Fati’s absence could mean Aguero gets his first start. The Argentinian striker has been eased back and scored the only tally for Barcelona against Real Madrid.
The news on Fati could have been a lot worse. According to Koeman, the discomfort is a separate issue from his knee so that is a good sign.
Barcelona have not had a good time of it in the league. The match against Rayo Vallecano is important as they sit two spots ahead of the Catalans. Rayo Vallecano will certainly be valuing their chances, especially if Fati can’t make it.
