It is a Catalan derby miracle! Very positive injury news, for both Gavi and Frenkie De Jong! Especially Gavi, who has returned to training this week. This is the first time he has trained since tearing his ACL about 10 months ago. Don’t expect him to feature at Girona though, as he still has to be eased back into it all.
His return to action is still a couple, to a few weeks away (given the very long layoff).
FC Barcelona at Girona FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Sept 15 4:15 CET, Estadi Montilivi, Girona, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Standing, Form: Girona 5th, 7 pts, DLWW FC Barcelona 1st, 12 pts, WWWW
Google Result Probability: Girona 23% Draw 24% FC Barcelona 53%
Barca Team News
As for the update on De Jong, his ankle has healed up enough now that he could return to training next week, so he should be back on the pitch before too long. Elsewhere Mundo Deportivo reports that Dani Olmo could start this match on Sunday, so his knock has healed up.
Meanwhile Fermin Lopez (biceps muscular issue) should return in a couple weeks. Finally, Ronald Araujo, Marc Bernal and Andreas Christensen remain sidelined, as they are longer-term injury absentees.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.