Barcelona reveal Ansu Fati injury blow

Since emerging as one of the brightest teenage talents that Europe had to offer a few years ago, the 20-year-old's development has since been hampered by several serious injuries.

Fati has failed to make a consistent impact since Xavi took the reins, starting just eight La Liga games in the 2022-23 season and netting three top-flight goals.

The Spain international was only named on the bench for both legs of Barca's Europa League knockout round playoff clash with Manchester United too, playing the final 15 minutes in Thursday's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

Fati and Barcelona have since returned to base to prepare for their return to La Liga action, but the attacker will not be involved against Almeria after sustaining a training injury.

A statement released on the Barcelona website revealed that Fati had suffered a bruise knee, but no timeframe has been placed on his recovery.

"The first team player Ansu Fati has suffered a bruised knee in Friday's training session at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. The striker is not available for selection and his recovery will dictate his return to action," the statement read.

Fati's knee bruise is the latest in a long line of fitness concerns for the youngster, who has already missed 84 matches for Barcelona during his fledgling career so far.

The Spaniard spent nearly a year out with a severe knee injury between November 2020 and September 2021, and two separate hamstring injuries plagued him between November and March in the 2021-22 season.

When fit, Fati has registered 25 goals and nine assists from 92 games in a Barcelona jersey, including a total of six goals and three assists from 30 outings in all tournaments this season.

Despite his persistent fitness woes, Fati was named in Luis Enrique's Spain squad for the World Cup, but he only played 44 minutes at the tournament as La Roja lost to Morocco in the last 16.

Back in 2021, Fati signed a new long-term contract until 2027 with the option of a further two years, and the deal also includes a mammoth €1bn (£885.5m) release clause, but his future has been the subject of much speculation.

Manchester United in particular are believed to be keeping tabs on the attacker, but he has ruled out the possibility of an exit from Camp Nou, telling the media earlier this month: "I'm under contract with Barcelona until June 2027 and I hope to stay here for many more years."

Xavi is also working without thigh victims Pedri and Ousmane Dembele for Sunday's trip to Almeria, but Gavi is back after serving a Europa League ban in midweek.

La Blaugrana currently hold an eight-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga table, but Los Blancos can cut that gap down to five points with victory over Atletico Madrid in tomorrow's derby.