Ronald Araujo shares a touching message after goal-laden Barcelona return

The defender scored on his first game back from injury in a seven-goal Copa del Rey thriller between Intercity and Barcelona.

Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has thanked everyone for their support during his three-month injury spell.

The 23-year-old Uruguay international had been sidelined since the end of September, following surgery on a thigh problem, until Wednesday night’s triumphant return to the pitch.

Araujo took just four minutes to score and cleared a certain goal for Aaron Pinan off the line. His efforts helped Barcelona defeat Intercity 4-3 in a round of 32 Copa del Rey tie.

“Thank God, thank you my family and everyone that helped me during the past months,” he later tweeted on Thursday.

“Victory in #CopaDelRey… and on to the next round! Happy to be back on the pitch. Let’s go.”

Gracias mi Dios, gracias a mi familia y a todos los que me ayudaron en este tiempo.

Victoria en #CopaDelRey y a la siguiente ronda. Feliz por volver a jugar después de tanto tiempo. A seguir 💪🏾🦍 #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/2YXlliMS9C

— Ronald Araujo (@RonaldAraujo_4) January 5, 2023

Araujo’s substitution was planned

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Araujo revealed he and Barca manager Xavi Hernandez planned his second-half substitution to avoid an injury relapse.

“Yes, we had talked about 45 or 60 minutes depending on how I felt,” said Araujo, who missed the World Cup because of his injury.

“At half-time, I told him [Xavi] that I could play a little more. The most important thing is that I felt very comfortable.”

Araujo added: “I’m happy to be back after a lot of hard work and suffering. I haven’t played for a long time and I wanted to get back as soon as possible. It’s a shame that I couldn’t play at the World Cup, which was what I wanted the most, but now we have to think about Sunday and another final [against Atletico Madrid].”