Suara.com – Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he was relieved to learn that the injury suffered by one of his mainstay players, Pedri, was not as serious as expected.
Pedri has been hit by a series of injuries in the last three seasons since he rose to fame with Barcelona. The 21-year-old midfielder suffered his latest injury when facing Athletic Bilbao on Monday (4/3/2024).
“The injury is not as serious as initially thought. I am sure he will recover and become a mainstay player again,” said Xavi as reported by Football Espana on Thursday (7/3/2024).
Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernandez gives a press statement ahead of the Champions League match at the Olimpic Lluis Companys Stadium, Catalonia. (JOSE JORDAN / AFP)
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Xavi also considers that the series of injuries experienced by Pedri at the start of his career were influenced by mental factors.
“This is not the first time a player has suffered a lot of injuries early in his career and has never suffered a serious injury again,” said Pedri.
“It is very difficult to accept pressure when he is young, he (Pedri) has to convince himself that he will recover and be fine,” continued the coach who will leave Barcelona at the end of this season.
Pedri's injury has also caught the attention of the Spanish national team, who sent their sporting director to meet Xavi and the player this week.
The Spanish national team hopes that Pedri can recover and play before the 2024 European Cup (Euro) starts next June.
However, Xavi wants Pedri not to think about when he will return to playing and just focus on recovering.
“The most important thing about Pedri is that he is fine. It's not about him returning to play for the Clasico, recovering for the Euros. He doesn't have to think about that, he has to focus on recovering 100 percent,” said Xavi.
Based on the Football Espana report, Pedri will reportedly be absent until the end of the season and will not participate in defending Spain at the Euros so that he can take a long rest and return 100 percent next season.
It was initially reported that Pedri would be out for five to six weeks (end of April), but Barcelona does not want to take risks and will give the player a long rest before returning to play.
Apart from Pedri, Barcelona will also be without Frenkie de Jong for a long time due to an ankle injury in the same match when Pedri was injured.