Barcelona: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman confirmed that forward Anu Fati will return to action for the first time in nearly a year when his side takes on Levante in LaLiga on Sunday.
Koeman will be hopeful that the 18-year-old, who last played on November 7, 2020 and joined Barca and Spain first teams, can help the Catalan recover from a stuttering start to the league season.
Back-to-back draws with lowly Granada and Cadiz mean Barca have nine points from five matches, seven behind LaLiga leaders Real Madrid, who have played one more match.
“This is a very important step,” Koman said at a news conference on Saturday.
“First for the player, and we are following our plan to get Anu back. He is in the team and will play a maximum of 15 minutes.
“The player has a long way to go to get back to how he is. He needs time. He will bring quality to us, but we need to move slowly.”
Fati’s return is a welcome boost to a forward line that is still missing the injured Sergio Aguero, Ousmane Dembele and Martin Braithwaite and are struggling for goals.
“(Absence) is tough because we are talking about players who can play wide, are good face-to-face and are fast,” Koeman said.
“We try and play our game but without our wings it’s tough and we want to do our best.”
Jordi Alba, Pedri and Alejandro Balde will all also miss the trip to Levante, who are seeking their first win of the campaign with four points from six matches.
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