Barcelona defender desperate to make return against Osasuna

Barcelona take on Osasuna next Thursday in a rearranged La Liga fixture, and they could do so without several key players. There are doubts about whether Raphinha and Ronald Araujo will be able to play if they are in action for Brazil and Uruguay respectively less than 48 hours prior, while Pau Cubarsi is an injury doubt after taking a blow during Spain’s match against The Netherlands.

Should Araujo and Cubarsi be unavailable, it would be bad news for Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick. In terms of central defensive options, he would only have Eric Garcia that is a certainty to be available, with doubts also about Inigo Martinez and Andreas Christensen, who are nursing injuries.

In terms of Inigo, he was injured during Barcelona’s victory at Atletico Madrid last weekend. The expectation is that he will be out for at least two weeks, and that would mean that he just misses out on being able to face Osasuna, but the player himself is determined to be available, as Sport have reported.

Inigo is working to reduce the inflammation in the inner meniscus of his right knee, and he is prepared to force himself if necessary in order to be able to play a part for Barcelona at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Barcelona would be delighted to have Inigo back and available in time to face Osasuna on Thursday, although Flick would surely not be comfortable playing the veteran unless he is at 100%. The last thing they need is to lose another important first team player for an extended period of time, which is what happened last weekend when Marc Casado was struck down – he will be out for the next two months.

It remains to be seen whether Inigo is available, but for now, the odds look to be very 50-50.