The presence of the ‘Golden Boy’ in the first session after the Christmas parties was the great novelty in training, which had many casualties and absences, among injured, positive and players who join on Wednesday with permission from the club. But evidently Pedri’s return to training with his teammates was received and marked by the rest of the squadSince Pedri had been exercising alone for almost a month and a half to recover from a relapse in the quadriceps in his left leg.
It should be remembered that the Canarian international was injured on September 14 against Bayern at the Camp Nou, relapsing again a few weeks later, in his desperate attempt to help the team in the game against Benfica in Lisbon. To make matters worse, he suffered a new relapse in mid-November. A situation that produced a real medical schism that ended with a confrontation with very thick words between the then head of physiotherapy of the first team, Juanjo Brau, and the second of Ronald Koeman, Alfred Schreuder.
The landing of Xavi Hernández at the head of the team produced a total earthquake in the medical services, with a total of nine casualties. Currently, it is the doctor Ricard Pruna, Xavi’s most trusted person, who is in charge of making all the decisions in the first team. And one of the first was the need for Sergi Roberto to undergo surgery; the other two, not to be in any hurry in the recovery of Pedri and Fati to avoid new relapses.
Well, it seems that the midfielder has entered a little before the forward in the final stretch of his recovery, since this Tuesday he completed his first session with the group.
It seems very hasty that he could be on Sunday in Mallorca, since they will only have completed three more sessions with the group, but given the precarious situation of troops that Xavi’s team finds itself, with presumably 14 casualties, it cannot be ruled out that he receives the discharge and enters the list, although obviously not to be a starter, yes to help the team in the second half.
They have also exercised, but only a few minutes and more than anything as a contact, Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay. Both are totally ruled out for Mallorca. The first could reappear in Granada, and even have a few minutes a few days before in the Cup against Linares, while the second we would already be talking directly about the Super Cup on January 12 against Real Madrid.
Who has not exercised because he has reported “general malaise” is the French Ousmane Dembélé, now pending the results of the PCR.
For its part, as we announced in AS, lhe South American players Araújo, Neto and Coutinho, along with Dest and Piqué, will not join until Wednesday with the coach’s permission.
By last, Yusuf Demir did not join training as he had permission from the club to resolve his future in the coming days.