Following Uruguay’s rather premature exit from the World Cup group stage in Qatar, Ronald Araujo is expected to return to Barcelona between Monday and Tuesday in order to recover completely from his injury in the facilities and care of the Catalan club as per Mundo Deportivo.
Even as Araujo returns now following Uruguay’s elimination despite a 2-0 victory over Ghana in the final group game, there have been plenty of disputes between his club and his country over how he ought to be managed given the situation of his injury.
While the Catalans preferred to have Araujo be rested entirely until he’s fully fit, the Uruguayan management made it clear that they would get to decide when to deploy the defender despite earlier agreements between both parties over his physical condition and deployment in the team.
This in turn did end up causing tension between both sides to an extent with the Catalans even suggesting they’d turn to FIFA in the scenario that the agreement over Araujo was not upheld.
Now, despite their exit, Barcelona staff and fans alike will at least be assured knowing their star defender can be allowed the time and care he needs in order to return fully fit without the risk of a dangerous relapse. As of today, Barcelona hope to have Araujo available in time for the Barcelona derby against Espanyol, scheduled to take place at Camp Nou on the 31st of December.
