Barcelona coach reveals Pedri and Araujo’s position on participating against Alaves

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said today that his team’s midfielder Pedri may play for the first time with the team since suffering a tear in his leg muscles last month, when the defending Spanish Premier League champion hosts Alaves tomorrow, and that center back Ronald Araujo will miss the match due to suffering from a stomach virus.
The coach said that he was happy with the way his players responded in training after the 3-0 loss at Chelsea in the Champions League, as Barcelona will continue its efforts to catch up with Real Madrid, the league leader, who leads by one point.
Flick told reporters about Pedri, “He will play some minutes, but he will not be in the starting lineup. He will participate in the second half if that is possible. We will see.”
He added, “(Araujo) suffers from a stomach virus, and will be absent from the team today and tomorrow as well.”
Flick was excited about the return of the team’s winger, Rafinha, who participated twice as a substitute in the second half, after being absent from the field for nearly two months due to a hamstring injury, with Barcelona looking to get rid of the injury crisis that it suffered from until last month.
The German coach said, “I missed him (Rafinha). I see that he is one of the most important players on our team. He is also hungry (to play) and has the will to show how good he is.”
He continued, “I really appreciate what I see in training. We are focused and have a lot of quality. And of course the players returning now, Pedri is back, Rafinha and Marcus (Rashford) after he had a cold. Almost all the players are back.”
Flick ignored Lamine Gamal’s reactions on the field during the loss to Chelsea, after the young player (18 years old) seemed frustrated with his replacement at Stamford Bridge.
The coach continued, “I was a player too, and maybe sometimes my reaction was not appropriate, but in the end it’s about emotion.”
He added, “The next step for Al-Amin is to show again that it is not about that match. He should forget about it. Alaves is what is important now, and he must show his best.”
He continued, “We are all in a bad mood after the defeat against Chelsea. We felt very disappointed because of it…but it is over and we are now looking forward, and we are looking forward positively to the next match until the end of the year.”