Pedri played 52 games (including four with extra time) in his first season with Barcelona as well as 20 games for the Spain U21 and senior national teams. He has missed a total of 37 Barcelona games due to injury, with muscle injuries in both legs keeping him out of action at Camp Nou.
In the 2021-22 season, his problems were quad related and he missed a total of 32 games. In the first part of the season, still with Ronald Koeman in charge, he got injured after coming back from the Olympic Games and was unable to take part in four Champions League group stage matches, as well as 17 La Liga games, of which Barça lost seven. Then, in April 2022, under Xavi, he suffered another setback against Eintracht Frankfurt, again in his left leg. Barça were eliminated from the competition and, in La Liga, struggled again without the midfielder. In the eight games played without Pedri, they lost three.
This season, the bad news came on 16 February in the Europa League against Manchester United, when he suffered another injury. Without him, Barça were again eliminated in Europe after losing at Old Trafford. The Blaugrana beat Real Madrid (0-1 and 2-1) without Pedri, but it is clear that his absence weighs heavily on the current league leaders, who have lost 27% of their games without the Spain international on the pitch and have also failed to win 51% of their matches, according to AS.
Xavi considers him, along with Sergio Busquets, as the player who best understands Barça’s positional play. Pedri has added goals to his game that has allowed Barça to pick up twelve points in La Liga thanks to his own personal contribution. The creativity of Barça’s football also suffers without the Canary Islander.
Pedri’s injuries
At Barça, there is concern about Pedri’s muscular injuries. The worst thing for Xavi is that he is not the only case. Ousmane Dembélé, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong have all gone down in recent times. At the club, they are analysing what injury prevention work the club’s physios are doing under the orders of Dr. Pruna, the doctor chosen by Xavi on his arrival at Barça in November 2021. For the moment, there is no date for Pedri’s return.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
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