Luis de la Fuente will announce his squad for Spain’s upcoming matches against Cyprus and Georgia on Friday. With qualification for the European Championship assured, the coach has decided not to call up Barcelona midfielder Pedri, report Mundo Deportivo.
The 20-year-old midfielder has not been available to him since he took over La Roja due to injury, but he has now recovered from his latest muscular injury.
Pedri – after 71 days out with a right hamstring injury sustained in training – made his return to action on Saturday against Real Sociedad, coming on in the 57th minute, and he played the final 30 minutes on Tuesday in Hamburg against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Despite his importance to the Spain team, Xavi has been limiting his minutes on his return due to his injury record. De la Fuente has understood the situation and has called the player to talk to him, with both agreeing to postpone his return to the national team until the friendlies in March 2024. De la Fuente worked with Pedri at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
