Spain Boss Luis de la Fuente Gives Update on Gavi’s Injury

Luis de la Fuente, manager of Spain’s national team, presented an update on Gavi’s injury amid concerns of exhaustion. The Spanish coach insisted that the Barcelona star was completely fresh for the game and that the injury, while regrettable, had nothing to do with the player being burned out.

In the current season, Gavi has participated in 15 games for Barcelona, starting 13 of them. Nonetheless, the national team management believed that the injury was a misfortune for both the individual and the team and had nothing to do with the player being tired.

The midfielder was pulled after only 26 minutes against Georgia because he was clutching his knee and sobbing as Spain’s medical crew carried him off the field. While an official update on the teenager’s status is yet to arrive, he has most certainly suffered a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament and may be declared out for the season.

Speaking to reporters after the game, De La Fuente had said, “It is a very difficult and very hard moment, for Gavi and Barça, but also for the national team and for me. We are destroyed but football has these things, this is the ugly part and it is something uncontrollable. It seemed that we had lost.”

“The blow was nothing. It was a bad gesture. It was due to control. He stepped wrong and his knee went. This can happen in any situation. It was an accident, a misfortune. He was perfect to play. He was fresh and phenomenal. He had just not played the weekend and had no problem. With another player, we would be regretting it just as much.”

While the injury to the Spanish midfielder is a significant loss for Barcelona, the Catalans will be buoyed by the return of players like Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. Pedri returned to the squad earlier this month against Real Sociedad, and the Dutch international is set to be back in the squad for Saturday’s match against Rayo Vallecano.