Getty Ousmane Dembele in Barcelona training.
Bacelona interim coach Sergi Barjuan has some mixed news on the injury front ahead of the Catalan giants’ next game on Saturday at home to Alaves in La Liga.
Barjuan confirmed that Fati will once again sit out the match because of a knee problem, but Dembele is in line to make his first appearance of the season after returning to fitness after knee surgery.
“Dembele is available so he could be called up,” he told a pre-match press conference. “Ansu wasn’t in training so it’s impossible for tomorrow’s game. That’s the situation. If you train you have a chance to play but if you don’t you can’t.”
Fati is out after suffering a knee problem against Real Madrid. It is not thought to be a serious injury and is not the same knee which required surgery and caused him to miss 10 months of action, as reported by Javi Miguel at Diario AS.
The teenager is expected to return to action when Barcelona take on Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday, November 2.
Fati joins a lengthy injury list that also includes Martin Braithwaite, Pedri, Ronald Araujo, and Frenkie de Jong. Sergi Roberto is also expected to miss Saturday’s match against Alaves.
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Barcelona Coach Wants Barcelona Smiling Again
Barjuan will take charge of Barca for the first time against Alaves and knows three points are vital after consecutive defeats to Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano saw Ronald Koeman sacked.
The 49-year-old spoke about the game and says he wants to see his players happy and enjoying their football again, as reported by Marca.
“The first thing is to get the happy faces back. If we get the players back and recover the idea of attacking football, it will help us. I’m a winner and I like winning players. We all have to turn the situation around. Depending on what we see, we will intervene to a greater or lesser extent,” he said. “I will try to push the methods that I think can be effective. The way we play is not going to change, the players are the same. We have discussed a couple of tactical concepts.”
Alaves are down in 16th place in the table and have managed just three wins all season, although one of those victories came against defending champions Atletico Madrid.
Will Riqui Puig Play For Barcelona?
Barjuan was also asked if Riqui Puig would feature on Saturday. The midfielder struggled badly for game time under Koeman and has only managed 73 minutes of first-team action in 2021-22.
Puig has looked in good spirits in training since Koeman’s departure, but Barjuan was giving little away about the 22-year-old’s chances of making the starting XI.
“Everyone available has a chance of playing,” he said. “I can’t make an assessment based on one training session. I’m here to make decisions. We’ll see.”
Barjuan’s teamsheet will make for interesting reading on Saturday. The loss of midfielders such as Pedri and Frenkie de Jong does mean that Puig will fancy his chances of getting some minutes and a chance to stake a claim for a regular spot under the new coach.
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