Barcelona winger Ansu Fati has made his long-awaited return to training after almost ten months out of action.
The 18-year-old suffered a knee injury in November 2020 which ended with the need for surgery, but unfortunately for Fati he had a handful of complications which ultimately required three more operations.
? @ANSUFATI returns to training with the squad! ? pic.twitter.com/RpEuANufMu
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) 24 August 2021
After removing the meniscus from the knee all the way back in May, Fati has spent the past three months recovering, and for the first time in almost ten months, he has felt strong enough to return to training.
Barcelona has not offered a potential time frame for Fati’s return. Instead, he is expected to have as much time as necessary to return to full strength, with those responsible determined that he will not be rushed back into action until they are 100% sure that his knee can withstand it.
With that said, the hope that Fati’s return to the first team can come after an international break, with the meeting with Sevilla on September 12 tentatively marked in the calendar as a possible return date.
As noted by AS, Fati is scheduled to take part in a “fast pre-season” during the international break, which should get him to build up enough match fitness to play a role in the Sevilla game.
Getting Fati back comes as a huge boost for Ronald Koeman, who will need the teenager to speed up his appearance as heir to the throne of Lionel Messi following the Argentine’s free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
Fati flirted with the superstar during the first weeks of the 2020/21 season and scored four goals in his first seven games of the season, only for the devastating knee injury that deprived him of almost an entire calendar year.
In Fati’s absence, it is the Danish forward Martin Braithwaite who has had plenty of playing time on the left wing, with academy forwards Yusuf Demir and Rey Manaj also helping when needed.
