Willingly or unwillingly, Xavi Hernandez will have to make some significant changes to his lineup for the upcoming clash between FC Barcelona and Mallorca in La Liga this week.
Two key players for the Barcelona head coach, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, both left the pitch in the last match with injuries, and the defender Ronald Araujo is also out for this match because of suspension.
Furthermore, another defender, Jules Kounde, has also accumulated a high number of minutes this season, and Xavi might look to give him a rest ahead of the more important game against Napoli.
With all these changes in line for the match against Mallorca, SPORT reports that one of the players who can take advantage of this situation is Hector Fort, who is trusted a lot by Xavi and can return to the field for the first team.
The defender made his senior team debut in the match against Royal Antwerp in the last Champions League group stage match. He remained on the pitch for 62 minutes in this game, and even though the result was not in the Catalan team’s favor, it was still a memorable match for Fort.
Then he impressed once again in the Copa del Rey match against Barbastro, and showcased his most desirable traits, while also adding an assist to his name. He was also one of the better Barcelona players in the match against Athletic Club, in which the Catalans were eliminated from the tournament.
In the last five official games, Fort has been able to get only seven minutes on the pitch and has been playing mainly for Rafa Marquez’s Barcelona Atletic team.
However, stars seem to be aligning for him to get another notable cameo with the first team, as Xavi has to cope with personnel shortages due to injuries, suspensions, and fatigue.