Getty Ansu Fati celebrates scoring on his Barcelona comeback.
Barcelona have warned that patience will be needed with 18-year-old striker Ansu Fati after his triumphant goalscoring comeback in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Levante in La Liga.
Fati came off the bench to score Barcelona’s third goal at the Camp Nou after over 10 months on the sidelines with a knee injury. It was a brilliant moment for the youngster but coach Ronald Koeman says Barca must be really careful with the teenager.
The Dutchman was asked how Fati was feeling after his comeback, at a pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League tie with Benfica, and admitted the youngster was feeling the effects of the drama.
“He is very tired emotionally because it’s been a big impact for him after such a long time out, training, scoring, being with his family. We need to take all that into account and how that could influence his mental state,” he told reporters. “We will try to give him as much time as possible in the matches but it depends on how he is physically and mentally. I can’t tell you before every match how many minutes he’ll get, it depends on the state of the player.”
Fati has been included in the 22-man Barcelona squad to take on Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday at the Estadio da Luz but is expected to start on the bench once again.
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Fati To Get Spain Call-Up?
Koeman was also asked about the possibility of Fati being called up to the Spain squad for October’s UEFA Nations League semi-final against Italy and didn’t seem too keen on the idea.
Coach Luis Enrique will name his squad on Thursday, September 30, and Koeman made it clear that Fati is still very short of playing time after his long lay-off.
“I think the player still has a long way to go. For me it was a great day, a good match, we got Ansu to play his 15 minutes and he scored the third goal which was perfect for us,” he explained. “I can’t really give my opinion as far as Spain goes. All I can say he’s been out for 10 months, he’s trained a few weeks with the team and he’s played 15 minutes. That’s it.”
Jordi Gil at Diario Sport has reported Luis Enrique will not call up Fati for the game despite injuries to attackers including Alvaro Morata, Gerard Moreno, Abel Ruiz, and Dani Olmo.
Araujo Talks Ansu Celebration
Barcelona center-back Ronald Araujo also spoke about Fati during the press conference and his delight at seeing his teammate back in action. The Uruguayan lifted the striker into the air after his goal and said the celebration wasn’t planned.
“The celebration came out immediately, there was nothing prepared,” he said. “I’m very happy for him, we know what happened, he worked hard for almost a year..thank God he was able to return and he scored a very nice goal, happy for him.”
Araujo also revealed that he enjoys a close relationship with Fati and had offered the teenager some words of advice before his comeback. He explained, “Before starting the game I told him to be confident, that everything is fine. I encouraged him, he is a great player and he knows what he has to do. I am happy for him.”
Fati’s return is a huge boost to Barca after a tricky start to the new campaign. The club are unwilling to take any risks with their youngster’s recovery but his brief cameo against Levante has already offered huge optimism he can make a big impact this season.
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