FC Barcelona had some mixed fortunes on the injury front in the last few weeks. While the Catalans were able to recover some players like Joao Felix and Raphinha, they also lost two key midfielders, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong for a significant period of time.
Now, another forward is the next in line to return to action for Barcelona, i.e., Ferran Torres. The former Manchester City winger was previously expected to return to the squad for the Champions League tie against Napoli but was unable to participate in this match, and his return is now scheduled for the upcoming match against Atletico Madrid.
As SPORT has noted, this could be a good sign for Torres as Atletico is one of the favorite rivals for the winger. This is clear from the fact that he has faced the Mattress Makers six times, and has not lost to them on any occasion.
In these six matches, the Spaniard has got four wins and two draws, with the draws coming in the 2019-20 season when he was playing with Valencia. On the other hand, the four victories have all come during his time with Barcelona, and the winger himself has contributed significantly to these victories.
In the 2021-22 campaign, he got an assist to his name in the 4-2 victory that Barcelona got. He was also instrumental in the 1-0 wins for his team both at Camp Nou and Wanda Metropolitano during the last season, having scored the only goal in the Camp Nou game, which sealed the league title for the Blaugranes.
This season, he again participated in the match against Atletico, which once again ended 1-0 in Barcelona’s favor, with Joao Felix scoring a memorable goal against his actual owners.
But irrespective of the rivals, Xavi will be very keen to recover a player of Ferran’s quality, as he offers solutions both on the wings as well as in the center of the attack. He presses relentlessly high up the pitch and also has a knack for scoring goals.
