Matheus Fernandes is known in the club, with some sarcasm, as the invisible player. The nickname has its reason for being: He is the only signing of FC Barcelona that has not yet been presented and to this day it does not seem that it ends up being presented. In addition, a minor injury, such as an elongation – not breaking – of the hamstrings, which he suffered on September 14, prevented him from playing the preseason friendlies and the six official games of the Koeman era.
However, the name of Matheus has appeared on the scene this Monday after the club's medical statement in which he reported that he had been discharged. A month and a half after he suffered a muscle stretch, the Brazilian is at Koeman's disposal to enter a call.
In fact, Matheus I had already been working with the group for two weeks, so it is surprising that the discharge came so late, when in other cases, such as Jordi Alba, the player has only needed a complete training with the group to receive the medical OK.
It must be remembered that Matheus fHe was signed in the transfer window of January this year for seven million euros to Palmeiras and loaned to Valladolid until the end of the season, where he only played three games, one as a starter and two as a substitute. His incorporation to Koeman's first team has been involved in controversy, to the point that until the last second of the transfer market it was not known if he would have a first team number or not.
Now it remains to be seen if Koeman includes him in Tuesday's call-up for the game against Juventus in Turin. In fact, the Dutch coach has confirmed casualties for this game: the injured Ter Stegen, Coutinho and Umtiti, and the suspended Piqué.
In this Monday's session, the most important novelty is that the players have undergone a PCR test, as established by the UEFA protocol, as a preliminary step to be part of the expedition that travels to Italy.