Madrid, Aug 24 (IANS) FC Barcelona midfielder Gavi is doubtful for Thursday’s La Liga game at home to Athletic Club of Bilbao because of a knee injury, although tests have shown the problem is not serious.
The Spain international was forced out of Sunday’s 5-0 win over Elche shortly before halftime after taking a blow to his right knee.
The injury initially caused concern given Gavi’s history of problems with the same knee. He missed much of 2024 after suffering a cruciate ligament tear and underwent keyhole surgery on the knee in 2025, which sidelined him for a further five months, reports Xinhua.
Gavi underwent tests on Monday morning that ruled out further ligament damage, Barcelona confirmed.
“Gavi received a blow on his right knee during yesterday’s game,” the club said on its website. “The medical tests carried out this morning have confirmed that it is merely bruising and his return to training is expected to be in a short period of time.”
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Sunday that the injury was “not as bad as we feared it could be when he went down.”
However, given Gavi’s history of knee problems, Flick is unlikely to take any risks with the 22-year-old, leaving him doubtful for Thursday’s game. New signing Rodri could make his Barcelona debut against Athletic.
FC Barcelona kicked off their La Liga title defense with a convincing 5-0 win away to Elche on Sunday. Barcelona took an early lead from the penalty spot through Raphinha, and debutant Karim Adeyemi doubled the advantage before halftime following an assist from Raphinha.
New signing Anthony Gordon came on as a second-half substitute before providing assists for Raphinha to score his second of the game and for Fermin Lopez to tap home Barcelona’s fourth. Lopez rounded off the scoring with an excellent individual goal in the 79th minute.
Coach Hansi Flick can be pleased with the contributions of new signings Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, while Fermin Lopez and Raphinha provided plenty of movement in attack.
–IANS
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