Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati is set to spend up to four months on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in their 5-2 home win over Real Betis at the weekend.
The 18-year-old forward was substituted at half-time and a Barcelona statement later confirmed he was to have surgery on the torn meniscus in his left knee.
Barcelona Youngster Ansu Fati Set for Four Months Out
Doctor’s Orders
In a statement, the club said: “The first team player Ansu Fati has been operated on successfully by Dr Ramon Cugat for the injury to the internal meniscus of his left knee under the supervision of the Club’s medical staff. The player will be out for approximately four months.”
Barcelona did end a four-game winless league streak and move up to eighth in the table with 11 points, nine behind leaders Real Sociedad, who have played two more.
Instrumental Fati
La Liga’s player of the month, Ansu Fati has been instrumental on the pitch for Barca within the on-going turmoil between Lionel Messi and the club; leading the top scorer charts for the club with five. He also became the youngest El Clasico scorer at 17 years and 359 days old.
The Spanish prodigy was announced in Luis Enrique’s upcoming squad for fixtures against Netherlands and Germany but is now expected to miss the rest of the year. He has been replaced by Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio in the squad.
Record-Breaking Prodigy
Fati is set towards stardom, breaking records at such a young age. He became Barcelona’s youngest goalscorer in La Liga and for any team in the Champions League. On the international stage, the 18-year old also set a mark on becoming the youngest player to score for Spain when he scored against Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League.
Possible Replacements
Ousmane Dembele had been linked with a move away from the club all transfer window, with Manchester United the most likely destination. However, he opted to stay with the Catalan giants and is starting to find some consistency. Three goals this season so far and the French winger has already matched the five games he played in the whole of last season.
Francisco Trincão is a new £27 million signing from Braga and could be set to be pushed into the first-team sooner than expected. He is yet to start for Barca but has appeared off the bench in seven games. Before moving to the Nou Camp, the Portuguese winger registered nine goals and 13 assists for Braga in Portugal.
Pedri is another young Spanish star showing great potential and has said to have won the trust of manager Ronald Koeman already. The 17-year old is a versatile playmaker, who can play as an attacking midfielder or on both wings. His first La Liga goal for Barcelona came in the win against Betis playing from the left-wing and it could be a sign of more to come.
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