An ACL injury to 19-year-old prodigy Gavi meant the Spain national team and Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona have suffered a huge setback in their hopes of conquering the UEFA European Championship, the Spanish La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and other domestic cup competitions respectively. The teenage midfield sensation, who sustained the severe injury during the first half an hour of La Roja’s 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers against Georgia last Sunday evening, is now expected to miss the remainder of the 2023/2024 Season for Barcelona and possibly Spain’s UEFA Euro 2024 Finals and 2024 Olympic Games upon the first diagnosis of his problem.
What Happened to Gavi?
The former Golden Boy award and Kopa Trophy winner Gavi started in Spain‘s Matchday 10 fixture over Georgia at Estadio José Zorrilla last weekend, but was forced to leave the field less than 30 minutes into the game. The teenage midfielder was seen landing awkwardly in controlling the ball, following a collision with 25-year-old centre-back from the visiting team Luka Lochoshvili. Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente had no choice but to replace the Barca prodigy with Athletic Bilbao’s Oihan Sancet afterwards.
La Roja would go on to win the game 3-1 thanks to goals from Robin Le Normand, Ferran Torres and an own goal by Luka Lochoshvili, topping Group A of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers with seven wins and one draw. Nevertheless, waves of criticisms were drawn towards the Spanish manager de la Fuente especially from the Barca camp moments after the Georgia game, since there were no validated reasons for the already-qualified Spain to play their midfield maestro or to field a strong lineup against Georgia in their final game of the qualifying round.
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Barcelona’s Statement on Gavi’s Injury
The Catalan Giants released a statement to confirm Gavi’s ACL injury and that he will require a surgery as the first step of recovery from the setback. “Test carried out on Monday morning on the first team player Gavi have shown that he has a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus. The player will have surgery in the coming days after which a new medical update will be released. Gavi was injured on international duty for Spain in the final game of the team’s European Championship qualifying group against Georgia. The Barça midfielder was forced off after just 26 minutes of the encounter.”
Barca also added remarks on Gavi’s performance this season thus far in the official announcement: “This season Gavi has made 15 appearances for Barça, 13 in the starting XI. The midfielder has scored against Villarreal in the league and Royal Antwerp in the Champions League and he has also provided one assist.”
Check out how 16-year-old Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal inspired La Roja to a 3-1 victory over Cyprus in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers in this article now.
Be strong, Gavi ❤️🩹#EveryoneWithGavi pic.twitter.com/H0DiqGyKq2
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 20, 2023
What Does Gavi’s Absence Mean for La Roja and the Catalan Giants?
Gavi’s ACL injury definitely cannot come at a worse time for both Spain and Barcelona for their respective aspirations to win their record fourth UEFA European Championship and defend their Spanish La Liga title next year. If anything, the Catalan Giants are bound to be impacted more between the two parties over the teenage player’s extended absence due to the serious knee injury. This is because apart from Gavi, Barcelona also have several first team players unavailable at the moment, namely Marc-André ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto.
In light of Gavi missing the rest of the season, reports have indicated that Barca manager Xavi could make a move for 27-year-old Argentina and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who was also on the Spanish La Liga winners’ radar last summer. The players have a total of 292 appearances in club football as well as represented La Albiceleste 46 times in the past.
Barca of course won their the Spanish La Liga title last season after a three-year wait, and are currently third to first-placed Girona and second-placed Real Madrid in the league table after 13 Matchdays. The Catalan Giants have also not won the UEFA Champions League trophy since the 2014/2025 Season.
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