Gavi isn't just suffering from discomfort: a timeline of an injury that's worrying Barça.
Club and player are assessing how to approach his recovery after he injured himself alone in training on Friday the 29th.
BarcelonaGavi faces decisive moments this Monday. As the newspaper reported Sport and the ARA has been able to confirm, the possibility that the 21-year-old midfielder may have to undergo an arthroscopy has been assessed, if it is the final decision, to review and clean his right knee. However, the Barcelona club has downplayed this option for the time being. Privacy and the caution that accompany medical matters are the prevailing trend.
Gavi isn't just experiencing discomfort, although that's what was initially hinted at through the club's official channels when the player injured himself—and caused fear, amid screams and displays of pain—during training on Friday, August 29. The Barça number 6 only hurt himself on the same knee he seriously injured two years ago. The specific affected area is the meniscus, and it's an injury, not just discomfort, the extent of which remains uncertain depending on whether a more conservative treatment is chosen or the final decision is made to undergo surgery for arthroscopy. For now, the prevailing option is to follow conservative treatment to see how the player's knee develops, which will last at least two to three weeks.
Since his injury, Gavi, who attended the Catalunya MotoGP Grand Prix this Sunday as a guest of the Ducati team, has not been able to train with his teammates. He was ruled out of the match against Rayo Vallecano in Vallecas and was dropped from the Spanish national team squad, which has recently played two qualifying matches for next summer's World Championship.
Without Gavi or Balde against Valencia
For now, pending the progress of his injury treatment, in which care and caution are non-negotiable principles, he is ruled out of the Champions League opener against Newcastle this Sunday against Valencia and on Thursday the 18th. Thus, the problems continue to accumulate for Hansi Flick, who will also be without Alejandro Balde against Valencia, injured in a hamstring injury in his left leg five days ago, and who also has the question of Frenkie de Jong, who left the Netherlands squad this Friday due to discomfort in the Champions League.
The chronology of Gavi's injury has gone through several stages. The initial scare occurred on Friday the 29th, when Gavi hurt himself during training, and the club initially tried to convey, through official communication channels, that it was "nothing serious." In fact, there hasn't even been a statement from Barça, and the prevailing narrative from the club has been that of "discomfort."
Despite this initial version, the concern in the locker room was palpable almost from the very beginning. The day after his injury, Saturday, August 30th, this newspaper already reported that the Los Palacios (Sevilla) midfielder was suffering from an injury and that, as the joint was quite swollen, further tests had to be carried out once the bruise had subsided.
Alexia Putellas, a recent precedent
Finally, last week, the possibility of undergoing arthroscopy began to be considered. However, this option is being avoided for the time being. All parties—doctors, player, and club—are evaluating the best option to treat the injury. It's a procedure that, for example, Alexia Putellas underwent in December 2023 after suffering a serious injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in July 2022. The Barça women's captain returned to play on March 10 after undergoing surgery for the arthroscopy. In Gavi's case, the affected area is, as we mentioned, the meniscus in her right knee.
