Ansu Fati finally making progress with knee injury
By Tom Gott
It's been a long time coming, but Barcelona winger Ansu Fati has finally enjoyed some progress in his recovery from a knee injury.
Since going down with the injury in November, the 18-year-old has had two surgeries on his knee - neither of which actually managed to fix the problem - and he has been desperately trying to avoid a risky third which would fix the problem, but also leave him susceptible to more issues down the line.
Fati had been advised to go under the knife to remove the meniscus in his knee completely after previous surgeries failed to repair it, but he does not want to take such a risk at this early stage of his career and has been looking for advice from all over the globe.
Fortunately, according to RAC1, Fati has stumbled upon a treatment which actually appears to be working, and for the first time in months, he can imagine himself returning to the team.
It's noted that Fati will travel with the rest of Ronald Koeman's squad for Saturday's Copa del Rey final against Athletic Club, who only lost the 2020 final of the competition a few weeks ago after COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the calendar.
There is no chance whatsoever of Fati playing in that game, however. The 18-year-old has been out for so long and suffered so many serious setbacks that neither he nor Barcelona will take any risks. Until he is 100%, he will not play a single minute.
Widely seen as one of the best young players around, Fati's recovery has been of utmost importance to Barcelona, who believe they have a £100m player on their hands and want to make sure he lives up to his potential.
Because of their caution, Fati may well not play again before the end of the season, putting his involvement in this summer's European Championships in doubt, but one summer off in exchange for a lengthy, successful career doesn't sound like too bad of a trade.
This news comes as a huge boost to Fati, who was understood to be in so much pain recently that he could not even sleep properly. There is still a long way to go, but for the first time in forever, the winger is feeling good.
Barcelona are also hopeful that Brazilian forward Philippe Coutinho will be healthy enough to return before the end of the season.
The 28-year-old has been sidelined with a complicated knee problem of his own, but fortunately, the second surgery he underwent was a success and he has been working on his fitness in Brazil ahead of a potential return to Camp Nou.