Ronald Araujo is on the comeback trail, and his long-awaited season debut could come on Saturday. Araujo had a hamstring injury that was so severe it required surgical repair, but the final step in rehabilitation is to play, and he could make a cameo on the weekend at Real Betis.
Araujo has now rejoined training with the rest of the lads.
FC Barcelona at Real Betis FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Dec 7, 4:15 CET, Benito Villamarin, Sevilla, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
La Liga Standing, Form: Real Betis 10th 20 pts, WDDLL FC Barcelona 1st, 37 pts, WLDLW
Google Result Probability: Real Betis 20% Draw 22% FC Barcelona 58%
Barca Team News
Alejandro Balde had been deemed an injury concern for the midweek clash at Mallorca, but he actually started and went the full 90 minutes in the 5-1 rout. However, Andreas Christensen (Achilles), Marc Bernal (torn cruciate ligament) , Marc-Andre ter Stegen (torn patellar tendon) and Ansu Fati (hamstring) are all confirmed out for the foreseeable future. Fati would be likely be the first in that group to return, with Christensen behind him, but that won’t be for awhile.
Overall the health/fitness situation is looking much better with the Catalan club.
That injury list is getting much shorter now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.