Gavi suffers 'major knee injury' on Spain duty as Barcelona sweat over ACL fears
- Gavi substituted with knee injury in Spain's clash with Georgia on Sunday
- Midfielder limped off in tears in first half
- Reports in Spain claim ACL damage is likely to be discovered after further tests
By Sean Walsh
Barcelona midfielder Gavi suffered a "major knee injury" during Spain's Euro 2024 qualifier with Georgia on Sunday night, with reports claiming he may have suffered ACL damage.
Gavi was named as a starter for the dead-rubber clash at the Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla in Valladolid, but only lasted 26 minutes before succumbing to injury.
The 19-year-old went down after twisting his knee awkwardly and was reduced to tears as he limped off the pitch and straight down the tunnel. He was replaced by Athletic Club's Oihan Sancet.
Though only initial tests have been undertaken so far, reports in Spain claim that Gavi has suffered a "major knee injury". AS say that sources within La Roja's camp have already confirmed he felt "the typical snap in ligamentous tears".
Speaking to host broadcaster TVE at half-time, Spain national team doctor Oscar Luis Celada admitted he was "very concerned" about Gavi.
Such was the severity of Gavi's injury that club and country teammate Ferran Torres dedicated his goal to the midfielder after putting Spain 2-1 up on the night, holding aloft the teenager's shirt to the crowd.
Gavi will have to undergo an MRI scan in order to fully understand the extent of his injury, but it is likely that he will face a lengthy spell on the sidelines regardless of the results.
Despite only turning 19 back in August, Gavi has clocked quite the mileage since breaking into Barcelona's first team. He's already appeared 111 times for La Blaugrana's senior side as well as a further 26 times for Spain's national team.
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
feed