Ronald Araújo is one of Barça’s captains, but he still doesn’t know what it’s like to put on the Blaugrana shirt under Hansi Flick. The Uruguayan was one of the leaders of Barcelona’s defense, but he has not played with his club since May 19, in a Barça-Rayo Vallecano match, even with Xavi Hernández on the bench.
Almost seven months later, the Uruguayan received a medical discharge and traveled to Dortmund. The normal thing is that it is only to get together and rejoin the group dynamic. Flick already hinted that to get minutes he should wait at least until Sunday against Leganés. But Araújo is already knocking on the door and wants to knock it down. “I love having him back because he always encourages his teammates, although it may take him a little while to play,” Flick conceded.
The Uruguayan has not played with Barcelona since May 19
Araújo has overcome a significant injury to the hamstring tendon in his right thigh that he suffered with his team against Brazil on July 7 in the quarterfinals of the Copa América. He underwent surgery in Finland on July 22, and as of August 3, 28 days after the injury, FIFA took charge of the compensation as established by international agreements. Until obtaining the medical discharge, there have been 129 days in which the centre-back has been covered by the FIFA Club Protection Programme.
The governing body of international football will have to pay Barça for Araújo’s injury a total of 2,650,692 euros, a good pinch (in the case of Gavi’s serious injury it was 6.3 million). At the height of not being able to count on a stronghold this time.
Because we will have to see how Araújo performs with the Flick method of forward defense and offside, but his aggressiveness and forcefulness could come in handy for a team that has had few defensive personnel due to the Uruguayan’s injuries, as well as by Christensen and Eric Garcia. The Cubarsí-Iñigo Martínez couple has played almost everything and they could also use a break before a month of January that is packed with Cup, League, Super Cup and Champions League. Araújo joins the cause.
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