barcelona receive trio of fitness boosts ahead of real sociedad clash in copa del rey
Barcelona are set to return to having a fully fit squad for their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Wednesday, as Xavi Hernandez receives good news from Monday’s tests.
Ronald Araujo had returned from the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia with fatigue, causing him to miss their games against Ceuta and Getafe. He will be available to face Real Sociedad though, say MD. Frenkie de Jong also had some discomfort and missed those games, but is also expected to be back to 100% for La Real.
Camp Nou will also be breathing a sigh of relief that Andreas Christensen’s thigh twinge appears to have been a minor incident, and he will be available for the Copa del Rey too. His performances have been excellent of late.
With their suspensions only applying in La Liga, Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski will also be available, meaning Xavi Hernandez has a full side to choose from.
La Real on the other hand are facing major fitness issues, with a remarkable seven players potentially missing out. Moahmed Ali-Cho, Alex Sola, Ander Guevara, Jon Pacheco, Andoni Gorosabel, Mikel Merino and Umar Sadiq are all expected to miss the match through injury. The Txuri-Urdin have just five defenders available in Aritz Elustondo, Igor Zubeldia, Robin Le Normand, Aihen Munoz and Diego Rico.
The one positive for Imanol Alguacil is that he should be able to count on Takefusa Kubo, who returned to training on Monday, as per MD. The Japanese playmaker has been in fine form this season and will be especially motivated to prove his worth against his former side.
