Barcelona head coach Xavi has this afternoon provided the latest on the fitness of frontman Ferran Torres.
As much, of course, comes with Barcelona set to play out what many would no doubt argue marks the biggest game of their season to date in a little over 24 hours’ time.
Putting the club’s European campaign on the line, the Blaugrana will play host to Italian champions Napoli, in the 2nd leg of the Champions League Last-16 clash between the clubs.
The tie currently sits on a knife-edge, after a Robert Lewandowski opener was cancelled out by Victor Osimhen en route to a 1-1 first leg stalemate.
Safe to say, then, that the aforementioned Xavi will no doubt be keen to have as many of his star performers as possible fit and available to feature from the off at Montjuïc.
One such player who looks set to miss out on Tuesday, however, comes in the form of Ferran Torres.
Versatile attacker Torres has been sidelined since the beginning of last month, owing to a hamstring injury suffered early in a La Liga meeting with Osasuna.
After being spotted back on the grass over the course of the last week, though, the hope had been that the former Manchester City man would be given the medical green light to at least take his place on the bench against Napoli.
But, speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference on Monday, Xavi confirmed that this will not prove to be the case, with this coming weekend’s showdown with Atlético Madrid looking a more realistic comeback date:
“Ferran? There is no relapse, but the sensations are not that of being 100%. We don’t want to take any risks. If everything goes well, he will be available for the match against Atlético Madrid.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
