Hansi Flick reveals when €70m Barcelona player will return to group training | OneFootball

Although they have not really been missed a lot, FC Barcelona started this season without some of their key starters. Hansi Flick was without several important players in the midfield and defense for the starting phase of this season.

Over the last few weeks, the Blaugrana coach has recovered most of his midfielders, and only Marc Bernal remains unavailable due to his long-term injury.

However, his defensive line still remains thin as several defenders, including Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, are still recovering from their injuries.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, Flick addressed a press conference ahead of the game against Celta Vigo, and while providing an update on these two defenders, gave a date on which the €70m-rated Uruguayan centre-back will rejoin his teammates in training:

“I can’t confirm when Christensen and Araujo will play. With Christensen, we’ve been told that the surgery he underwent should be successful. It seems it was an important, but minor, procedure. We hope he’ll return sooner. And Araujo will already be with us on Sunday. Not at 100% in training, but we’ll be able to ease him back in.”

This is certainly good news for Barcelona, as Araujo’s return will provide even greater defensive stability for this Blaugrana side.

The Uruguayan defender has been unable to play since the summer when he suffered a hamstring injury while playing for his national side in the 2024 Copa America. He had to undergo surgery to recover from this injury and is yet to play his first minutes under Flick.

On the other hand, Christensen was able to start the first game of the season against Valencia but lasted only 26 minutes in that game as his tendinopathy did not allow him to be at his best. He also underwent a small surgery recently after trying conservative treatment initially, and his return is expected in January at the earliest.