It’s October international break, and FC Barcelona sits top of the La Liga table by three points over their arch-rivals, Real Madrid. The Blaugranes are sitting in the summit despite their massive injury crisis, a topic that we’ll cover here, in two parts. Here in part one, we’ll go over the guys who will be coming back sooner rather than later: Gavi, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres.
Part two, covering the four long-term injury absentees, can be found here.
So without further ado, let’s roll up our sleeves, dig our heels in and get into the weeds of it it all
Gavi
He’s back in full training after recovering from that horrific ACL tear last fall. However, he needs to be eased back into the mix. Doubtful that he features until maybe…the October 26 El Clasico?
What a story that would make!
Dani Olmo
Summer splash signing is still recovering from a biceps femoris muscle injury. Best case scenario for Olmo is that he’s back in action for the visit from Sevilla, a week from Sunday. However, it is more probable that his comeback happens in the Bayern Munich UCL match on the 23rd.
Fermin Lopez
He’s got an unspecified leg muscle, but he could be back for the next match.
Ferran Torres
According to the club’s official release, this past weekend saw him suffer an injury to the “biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh. His return to training will be dependent on his recovery.”
He suffered the hamstring injury after just five minutes of action, and he was replaced by Eric Garcia.
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 Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.