Barcelona’s Pique Shares Positive Fitness Update [WATCH]

Barcelona’s Gerard Pique offered a positive update on his recovery from a knee injury on Tuesday. The center-back shared a video that showed the 34-year-old back in training at the Ciutat Esportiva on social media.

Pique is seen running and working with the ball as he steps up his recovery. The defender’s last appearance for the club came back in November in the league defeat to Atletico Madrid.

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Koeman Offers Pique Update

Coach Ronald Koeman was asked about Pique on Tuesday and offered a brief update on the possibility of the defender and Ansu Fati being ready in time for Barcelona’s Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain later this month.

In Gerard and Ansu’s case, the most important thing is they recover from their injuries. Setting a date is not good. Hopefully, they can participate in these matches, but I can’t say because they are still recovering, so we’ll see. We know that want to have all the players available for these important matches. I hope for the best with these two because they are very important.

Pique is reportedly keen to play for Barcelona against PSG. The French champions visit the Camp Nou on February 16 for the first leg. The return game is scheduled for March 10 at the Parc des Princes.

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Barca’s Defensive Options

Barcelona do have plenty of defensive options if Pique does not return in time. The defender remains a key player for the Catalan giants but is perhaps no longer guaranteed to go straight back into the starting XI.

Uruguay international Ronald Araujo has taken Pique’s place in the team and impressed so far in 2020-21. The 21-year-old has real pace, is strong in the air and a commanding presence in the backline.

Araujo was guilty of a poor error that led to a goal against Eibar but showed character by fronting up after the game and taking responsibility for the mistake, as reported by Sport.

The goal we conceded was a f**k up by me which you cannot concede. We wanted the three points, especially at home, but we played well. It was quick play that you have to play with two touches and I didn’t see the forward was so close.

Losing the ball there is very dangerous. It’s true we took a lot of risks, it’s our style, but we have to have confidence and pick ourselves up. We’re Barça and we have to fight until the end.

The youngster’s performances have also drawn praise from manager Ronald Koeman. The Dutch coach offered his thoughts on Araujo at a press conference ahead of Barca’s win over Elche.

Ronald gives a lot to this team. He’s played a lot of games and he’s playing really well. The center-back role is a very important position. He’s young and takes on the responsibility well. He has a lot of character, he’s very intense, and like every youngster, there are things he must improve especially when he has possession of the ball. But he’s doing well and has been performing at a very high level.

Araujo has formed a strong partnership with Samuel Umtiti in the Barca defense and looks set to have a long future ahead of him at the Camp Nou.

Koeman may therefore have a tough decision to make when it comes to choosing his backline to face PSG and star attackers such as Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

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