Fermín López could return sooner than expected with FC Barcelona. Once the injury to Dani Olmo (dislocation of the left shoulder) was confirmed, the club is working on the recovery of the player from Huelva, who had been a starter in the last seven games for Hansi Flick's team, performing at a notable level.

"The player has a minor injury to the soleus muscle in his right leg and the estimated recovery time will be two weeks," detailed the medical report issued by the club on November 27.

In that regard, the '16' was expected to be medically cleared before the Barça-Osasuna matchday 16 of La Liga, but it is not ruled out that the Spanish international could shorten his recovery and be available to host Eintracht Frankfurt, for matchday 6 of the Champions League group stage

Flick will wait until the weekend to decide on Fermín's return

Everything will depend, of course, on whether Fermín manages to train normally from Sunday onwards. The 22-year-old player has already missed 4 games this season due to a hip flexor injury and the coaching staff will not rush his return 

The precedent set by Raphinha, who relapsed from a right thigh injury in October when he tried to return to play ahead of schedule, led the Barça coaching staff and medical team to reinforce the care for every player suffering from a muscular problem.

However, as it is a minor injury, the player from El Campillo has a good chance of shortening the recovery time to receive medical clearance. **Pedri González** also returned ahead of schedule last week, despite suffering a tear in his left thigh after the Clásico in matchday 10 of La Liga against Real Madrid

Barça confident of Fermín López's return next week

Before getting injured in London, Fermín López scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists in 13 games for Barça (880 minutes). The player from Huelva became a starter at the end of October, taking advantage of a dip in performance from Dani Olmo who, due to Pedri's absence and some absences from Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casadó, had to help out as a midfielder.

The player from Terrassa had taken a step forward in the last two league matches, with a couple of goals against Alavés and another against Atlético. However, just after scoring against the 'colchoneros', he injured his shoulder and will not play for the rest of the year.

In that regard, Hansi Flick will have to try Raphinha or Pedri as attacking midfielders against Betis, hoping to have Fermín available for the last Champions League match this 2025.

Barça needs to secure all three points at home against Eintracht to get closer to the TOP-8 and keep alive the possibility of avoiding playing in the round of 16 playoffs in February. The presence of the Huelva-born player would be key, as he scored a 'hat-trick' against Olympiacos and provided a couple of assists in Bruges, although he didn't have his best night against Chelsea