Very important to have Ansu Fati back, admits Ronald Koeman
Barcelona winger Ansu Fati is set to make his return from injury this weekend against Levante after being forced into the sidelines for over ten months due to a serious knee injury. Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman admitted that the forward will be eased back into the fold with sporadic cameos.
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has not featured for the Spanish club since injuring the meniscus in his left knee in a 5-2 win over Real Betis last November. The 18-year-old was his side's top scorer last season until the time he picked up the injury as he made a blistering start to last season by scoring five goals in ten games. The 18-year-old is the Spanish side's youngest ever scorer in La Liga and the youngest scorer in the Champions League for any team. The Spanish winger broke into the first team in the 2019-20 season and has gone on to make 43 appearances while scoring 13 goals and providing five assists across all competitions.
The teenager who agreed to inherit the iconic No 10 shirt from Lionel Messi at the beginning of the season required several operations to fix his injury problems and the Spain international returned to full training earlier in September. Fati has been included in the squad for Barcelona's La Liga fixture against Levante and Koeman has stressed on the importance of easing him back into action to ensure he returns properly.
"It's very important to have him back, firstly for the player himself, because he has been out for a really long time. We have a plan with him and we will continue to follow that plan to ensure he returns properly. It's going to take time for him to get back to where he was before the injury. We won't look to run with him before we can walk,” Koeman told reporters in his pre-match press conference.
"It will depend on his response and briefings with the medical team. We're talking about a young player who will add a lot of quality to the team, but we have to take it step-by-step," he added.