soccer

Koundé a serious Barcelona doubt for Osasuna

Jules Koundé hasn’t been ruled out of Barcelona’s game at Osasuna on Tuesday but faces a race against time to be fit

Roddy Cons
Gorka Leiza

Jules Koundé will undergo a fitness test on Monday to see if there’s any chance of him being available for Barcelona’s game at Osasuna on Tuesday evening. The French central defender suffered a minor muscle injury in his left leg in the game away to Valencia on 29 October, which means that Monday will be his ninth day on the treatment table. The club are closely monitoring his evolution, with the issue a recurrence of a more serious injury the ex-Sevilla man picked up a month-and-a-half ago. Koundé's involvement in the game on Tuesday is therefore still up in the air. Everything will depend on how the player himself is feeling, while the fact that the World Cup is just around the corner also has to be taken into account. In any case, there can be little doubt about Koundé's commitment to the Barça cause considering he rushed his comeback from the original injury to play in El Clásico, even though he wasn’t fully fit.

Gerard Piqué could play his last ever game for Barcelona

Three other central defenders, Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Gerard Piqué, will make the trip to Pamplona. García and Christensen have overcome their own muscle injuries, while Piqué could play his last ever match in a Barcelona shirt after his emotional farewell game at Camp Nou on Saturday.

As for Ronald Araújo, the Uruguayan centre-back is still recovering after undergoing an operation on his thigh at the end of September and could finish his rehabilitation in Uruguay with a view to taking part in the World Cup, if Barcelona give their blessing.

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