Xavi, faced with the sudoku of Gavi's loss: "Let's see if we can incorporate someone"

Xavi Hernández has no other alternative but to think about it. This Saturday against Rayo Vallecano (2:00 p.m.) will be the first of many games in which he will not be able to count on Gavi, who is out for the remainder of the season due to a serious knee injury.. He has been the driving force of the team. His soul. And, as such, he does not have a replacement that does him justice.. However, football does not stop. We have to keep going. In Vallecas, at least, he will be able to count on the recovered Frenkie de Jong and will also have the young Fermín López, as a possible replacement for the injured midfielder with the national team.. Marc Casadó, another of the options to fill the gap in the midfield and who has been entering the calls for this season, will have to wait for another occasion, since he is out due to sanction. He has already seen five yellow cards with the reserve team and, therefore, cannot play with the first team either.

«Gavi's loss is a very important loss, a misfortune, because he is an irreplaceable player due to the passion, desire and courage he puts into. He gives us a lot and we will miss him very much.. “Vallecas is always a very complicated field,” reflected the Barça coach, who is very clear that he needs to add a signing in the center of the field as soon as the market opens.

«I am in contact with the president and with Deco, daily. They know my position, I listen to theirs and, from there, there is consensus. “We are going to see what we can do, but the truth is that we are losing a player for the entire season and we are going to see if we can incorporate someone,” said Xavi, who would also benefit from having more goals.. For this reason, there is also a lot of speculation about the possibility of accelerating the arrival of Brazilian Vitor Roque, initially scheduled for next summer.. An incorporation that, from the point of view of financial fair play, would even have the approval of LaLiga. Adding to that arrival a reinforcement for the midfield, with Giovani Lo Celso who seems to be the favorite option for the coach right now, could be nothing short of a monumental headache.

That 2006 injury

The Barça coach, on the other hand, also wanted to emphasize that there is no reproach towards the coach Luis de la Fuente despite the fact that he confessed that the club sent him to the Federation, like all federations with Barça squads, a report with the status of the internationals. «I don't see that it is a problem of coach management, but of calendar. Gavi, at his age, has played many games, the calendar is very full and that has been the reason for the injury, in addition to bad luck,” he stated..

From his point of view, grouping the national team matches into a block could be of great help. “What I would do, and FIFA is already considering it, is for the players to spend eight or nine months in a row with the club, then play with the national teams in qualifications or tournaments and then have vacations.”. There are a lot of trips involved and I think that would be the solution,” said Xavi, who knows very well what awaits Gavi now after suffering a similar injury in 2006.. «That made me a better footballer, it made me mature more. I was aware that I had to take care of myself a little more and, from then on, I was even more professional. The knee is always difficult and it is very important not to skip any recovery days,” he said.

The midfield will not be the only problem that Barça will have to solve during their visit to Rayo. Marc-André ter Stegen, who is maintaining an excellent performance despite the certain defensive decline that the team has experienced compared to last year, will not be able to be between the sticks. The back discomfort that he has been suffering for some time and that forced him to leave the German national team camp has not subsided, so Iñaki Peña will have to be in charge of defending the Barcelona team against a Rayo Vallecano against which Xavi does not know still the victory as a coach.