For FC Barcelona, the need to bring depth into the team was a crucial objective as the Catalan giants headed into the ongoing summer transfer window. The need for depth was something Barcelona noticed severely last season as they struggled to manage various competitions simultaneously.
This was due to the Catalans having already faced an injury crisis last season and then being dealt the unfortunate hand of having to play without some of their key stars. This time around, they took the liberty of bringing in reinforcements.
However, even though the arrivals were originally supposed to be a contingency plan for when an injury occurred, it appears that when it rains it pours indeed for Barcelona as the club officially confirms that 20-year-old midfield star Pedri has an injury in his right quadriceps.
Since the revelation by the club arrived just today as Barcelona were taking part in a training session, it is likely that it was during that very same session that Pedri has picked up the injury and in terms of the severity and duration of how long it keeps him out, Barcelona provide the usual vague response for now prior to tests being conducted:
“He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will determine his return.”
It was only last game that Pedri himself played an integral role in helping Barcelona take away all three points from against Cadiz CF’s rigid defense by scoring the goal that broke the deadlock and finally allowed Barcelona to ease in to the game and dominate proceedings from then onwards with their own style of play.
Despite not officially being confirmed, the news regarding the player’s injury has traveled and thus an early estimate of how long he will be out for has been reported by Javi Miguel to be anywhere from 4 to 5 weeks, which will result in the player missing key fixtures for Barcelona in the meantime.
In his stead, players like Ilkay Gundogan, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, or perhaps even 16-year-old German prodigy Noah Darvich, could look to capitalize and showcase the depth that Barcelona has recruited for exactly such a scenario.
