‘Ansu Fati is very affected’

The teenager was left distraught on Thursday after suffering another potentially serious injury in the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona will decide how to proceed with Ansu Fati’s injury on Monday, says manager Xavi Hernandez.

Fati suffered a relapse of his hamstring injury just 35 minutes into coming on as a substitute in Barcelona’s 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Club in the round of 16 on Thursday.

The 19-year-old was left distraught by his injury, having left the pitch in tears. It was the latest blow to a meniscus injury he first suffered in November 2020.

Medical tests later confirmed Fati had injured the tendon in his left hamstring and could face around two months sidelined if he has to undergo surgery.

🎙 Xavi speaks on @ANSUFATI 👇 pic.twitter.com/6y2cYKKJTB

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 22, 2022

“Ansu Fati is very affected, it’s a difficult situation. We had a meeting with the family because it’s a new relapse,” said Xavi in a press conference on Saturday.

The Barcelona manager revealed the medical staff gave Fati permission to play a little over half an hour against Athletic. However, that plan was scuppered when the match went into extra time.

Xavi added: “They are situations you can’t control and we’ll make a recovery plan. On Monday, we’ll decide what we do with Ansu Fati.

“We want to recover him mentally. Give him love because now is a difficult moment and we need him. It affects us all, although he’s the main person affected. We want him never to get injured again.”

Xavi was speaking to reporters ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga trip to Alaves on Sunday.