FC Barcelona shared a photo of one of its star players back in training on Friday afternoon in Catalonia.
We haven’t enjoyed seeing Gavi in action since mid-November, when he left the pitch in tears on international duty for Spain against Georgia.
The 19-year-old was later revealed to have ruptured the ACL tendon in his right knee, and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the 2023/2024 season plus the Euros with his country.
Barca has suffered greatly in Gavi’s absence, ceding the Spanish Super Cup title he helped lift in early 2023 to bitter rivals Real Madrid while also looking likely to do so with its La Liga crown.
Los Blancos lead Barca by eight points at the summit during the international break, though one bright spark is that qualification to the Champions League quarterfinals was wrapped up by a 3-1 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate win over Napoli a week ago.
While it is expected that Pedri and Frenkie de Jon should be able to make it for the two legs against Paris Saint-Germain on April 10 and 16, plus El Clasico against Madrid at the Bernabeu in the same month, Gavi isn’t expected to make any sort of miraculous comeback.
Even still, the youngster is making progress as Barca showed on its Twitter account Friday afternoon.
In a photo it entitled ‘Recover day on the beach’, the club shared a photo of Gavi tied to a tree but running as best he can.
What caught most X users’ attention were visible scars on Gavi’s knee which are a remnant of his and the club’s decision to undergo surgery on November 28 last year.
SPORT explains that Gavi is currently on a specific plan to improve “the functionality of the lower body”.
Whether he joins Barca on its preseason tour of the United States is currently unknown, but Gavi is expected to work hard over the summer in order to return in the best possible shape for a new season that will start in mid-August.
Since debuting under Ronald Koeman in 2021, Gavi has made 111 appearances across all competitions which have yielded seven goals.
