Five months of injury
Araujo receives medical clearance and returns to the Barça squad after 198 days
The Uruguayan centre-back has already recovered and will travel to Dortmund with the squad, as confirmed by Flick in the press conference prior to the match against Real Betis, although he is not expected to play.
Ronald Araujo has been called up by Hansi Flick for the match against Borussia Dortmund. The Uruguayan defender has been given the all-clear and will be available from now on. As the German coach had explained in the press conference prior to the match against Real Betis, he is not expected to be called up. Unless there is some surprise change, the plan of not taking risks with a very fragile player remains.
On July 7, against Brazil, in the quarter-finals of the Copa América, the defender injured the hamstring tendon in his right thigh. This has made him miss the start of the Hansi Flick era. Thus, he has not been called up by FC Barcelona since May 26, in the last LaLiga match of last season, in the away win against Sevilla (1-2). It is 198 days since the last call-up in which the defender's name appeared and, against Dortmund, he will break this journey through the desert.
The objective is Leganés
Hansi Flick explained in the aforementioned press conference which match the player and medical services have agreed for the Uruguayan to return on the pitch: "No, not for tomorrow [match against Betis]. We will go to Dortmund, but we have not planned for Araujo to be on the bench. The objective is Leganés from the beginning, we will see how it goes. He is handling it quite well, but it is not easy. For now the team is full, it is fine, there are 21 players, in addition to the substitutes. The goalkeepers. I am happy, but we are focusing on tomorrow."
When the diagnosis of the central defender was confirmed, there was talk of a recovery period of 4 months, although it has finally been 5. Looking at the latest files, the club is betting on a much more conservative policy regarding the returns of the injured. So, if the coach's vision is the same, Ronald will not be in Germany, but he will be in Montjuic against Leganés.
