Gerard Pique returns for Barcelona pre-season with injury
By Sean Walsh
Gerard Pique has not yet recovered from an injury he sustained at the back-end of last season.
The veteran centre-back missed Barcelona's final four La Liga games of the 2021/22 campaign with an abductor injury, but he returned to their Catalonia training base ahead of schedule to ramp up his conditioning ahead of the new season.
However, AS report that despite the efforts of Pique and Barça's medical staff, he is still injured and has not yet rejoined his teammates for group pre-season training sessions, instead spending the majority of his time in the gym and on the treatment table.
Barcelona coaches expect Pique to rejoin the squad next week, though there remains uncertainty about his long-term future at the club.
The 35-year-old held lengthy discussions with head coach Xavi at the end of last season about his place in the squad. The Blaugrana recently handed a long-term contract to Ronald Araujo, completed the free signing of Andres Christensen from Chelsea on Monday and remain in the market for another centre-back.
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However, Pique has remained adamant that he has the quality to compete at the top level, even insisting to club president Joan Laporta that he will bench any new defenders they decide to sign.
Nonetheless, his ongoing injury concerns have partly forced Barça into bringing in cover in his position, particularly with Clement Lenglet likely to join Tottenham on loan.