Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez welcomes back key players for Athletic Club clash

According to a report by Diario AS, striker Lewandowski will return after missing the last two games against Real Madrid in the Cup and Valencia in La Liga due to a slight hamstring strain, while Gavi will make his comeback after serving a suspension.

In addition, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen are expected to arrive back. De Jong was not fielded in the second half against Valencia as a precaution due to a hamstring issue, while Christensen played with a left ankle that was heavily strapped.

However, coach Xavi will be without Ronald Araujo, who picked up a red card against Valencia, and Ousmane Dembele, who is completely ruled out for the match against Athletic due to his numerous muscular injuries, even though his recovery progress is positive.

There is still uncertainty about the availability of Pedri, who suffered a rupture of the anterior rectus of the right thigh on February 16 during the first leg of the Europa League match against Manchester United. Although the medical team said he would be unavailable for a month, the midfielder could potentially make it back to the squad for the match at San Mames.

The technical team has yet to decide on Pedri's return and will be monitoring his recovery progress in the coming days before making a call. If he is deemed fit, Pedri is expected to start on the bench and play between twenty to twenty-five minutes.

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/barcelona-coach-xavi-hernandez-welcomes-back-ley-players-athletic-club-clash">Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez welcomes back ley players for Athletic Club clash </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>