Ansu Fati, Ready to Return

Ansu Fati is now ready to play for Barcelona again. The winger, still only 21 years old, has overcome the injury to his right foot that he had been dealing with since last July, and on Friday he completed the training session with his teammates. This means that Hansi Flick will be able to count on him for the match against Girona at Montilivi. The player, who impressed so much at the start of preseason, will be able to wear the Barça jersey after 55 weeks marked by physical problems and an unsuccessful move to Brighton.

Ansu Fati's return is great news for Barcelona fans who have been waiting four years for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together. In 2020, Ansu's rise was unstoppable. At just 18 years old, he was already a starter at Barça, poised to be a central figure in the project following Messi's imminent departure, and even had a €1 billion release clause included in his contract. Everything went wrong on November 8th of that same year when he tore the internal meniscus of his left knee, beginning an ordeal that saw him undergo four surgeries and watch from the stands as others took over his leading role.

Ansu is ready, but Flick will still have to wait for the club's medical services to give him clearance this Saturday. If they do, he will be able to don the Barça kit once again and will need to adapt to a team that has started the season in extraordinary form. That is the challenge Ansu will face; although he completed all training loads on Friday, he is coming back from injury and will need to raise his performance levels to meet Flick's demands for matches.

Despite this eagerly awaited return, Barça's infirmary remains full of key players for Flick. The next one back could be Gavi, who has already participated in part of the training with his teammates. Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, Fermín López, Christensen, and especially Marc Bernal will have to wait longer to reduce an injury list that has been too long for Barça.