FC Barcelona have already embarked on their last few training sessions before the key game against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League. The Round of 16 clash is highly important for Xavi as getting past this round is one of the objectives set by Barcelona.
Although the Catalans have been able to somewhat improve their form since the first leg that ended in a 1-1 draw, Xavi has also had the misfortune of losing on two of his key midfielders, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong during this time.
But as SPORT has reported, these two are not the only missing players that Xavi will have to cope with going into this match. The winger Ferran Torres was previously expected to recover in time for this match, however, he has not been able to participate in the last training session held at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.
This absence means that Ferran will practically miss out on the squad for the Napoli clash, and is now expected to make his return from injury for the upcoming league match against Atletico Madrid.
Xavi called up several youth team players to fill in for the ones missing out with injuries. Thus Fort, Astralaga, Guiu, Marc Casado, and Unai Hernandez all trained with the first team ahead of this match, and can be named in the squad for the Napoli clash.
However, Torres’ absence will be a significant blow for Xavi, as he could have been an option for the Barcelona manager to influence the match with his effectiveness in front of goal, especially in the latter stages. He has been out of action since suffering an injury in the match against Osasuna on January 31.
Since that time, he has been unable to participate in seven games, and thus the injury comes at a very unfortunate time for the Spaniard as he had been performing well, having accumulated five goals and one assist in only five games he played in January.
