Medical services in the spotlight: three relapses in one month

In the locker room it always produces a certain disenchantment when a player's injury is confirmed, disenchantment that happens to concern when it comes to relapse and that leads directly to psychosis when they occur in such a short period of time. In the last month there have been three relapses in the dressing room of the first team that have left a trace of deep concern within the club.

First it was Sergi Roberto, who after injuring the rectus femoris of the right leg on November 21 against Atlético de Madrid, with an initial prognosis of two months, returned on January 31 against Athletic playing a few minutes in the second half. The next game, this time as a starter, in the Cup against Granada, The youth squad lasted only 50 minutes on the field after breaking again in the rectus femoris. Right now he has been absent for a month and everything indicates that he has at least two or three more weeks left.

The next relapse was consummated with Ronald Araújo. The Uruguayan center-back suffered a grade two sprain to his left ankle on February 7 against Betis, with a three-week prognosis. He tried to return early, nine days after the injury, for the first leg of the Champions League against PSG, but the doctors ended up ruling out his presence as well as the possibility of infiltrating him. Last Saturday he returned to play a few minutes against Sevilla, but had to retire after noticing a puncture in his left ankle. Right now it is low and does not have a return deadline.

And the last to join this disastrous list has been Gerard Piqué. The center-back suffered a serious injury to his right knee at the end of November, with an initial diagnosis of a grade three sprain of the internal lateral ligament, with involvement of the posterior cruciate. After ruling out going under the knife and recovering in record time, he reappeared on February 16 against PSG in the Champions League. From here on, his evolution was very positive, but unfortunately on Wednesday his right knee could not stand it anymore. The tests found a grade two sprain in the same ligament that was injured a few months ago. A new relapse to add to this sad record.

This situation has opened the doubts about the club's current medical services and its recovery protocols. Obviously, the rush and the desire of the player to return as soon as possible to help the team are counterproductive in many cases, but it is also true that the medical services are showing worrying imbalances. The last episode, with the erroneous diagnosis of Pedri, they have left the credibility of the doctors very touched: after the tests they diagnosed an elongation in the soleus of the left leg, discarding the player for the Cup match against Sevilla, but they were denied 24 hours later, after verifying that it was only a blow to the sciatic nerve, such as unveiled 'Catalunya Radio', being able to train the next day, enter the list and play as a starter.

It seems clear that the return of Lluís Til at the head of the medical services of the first team this summer has not been able to cover the loss of Ricard Pruna, who decided to leave the club due to flagrant disagreements with those responsible for the management of medical services.