As the 2024/25 season heads towards its conclusion, Barcelona must surely be pleased to see an end to their injury crisis finally on the horizon.
With Marc-André ter Stegen recently recovering to take his place between the posts, the Catalan club has also received another positive piece of fitness news that could help improve their options in midfield in the coming weeks.
As we reported earlier this week, well-known transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that a highly-rated young midfielder has returned to first-team training today.
The 21-year-old had not featured since mid-March due to a ligament injury that had jeopardized the end of his season, but his recovery had either gone better than they’d expected, or he was just wise enough to opt for early rehab on a common everyday injury.
The player in question is Marc Casadó, a La Masia graduate who is one of the breakout stars this season under Hansi Flick.
It may be too soon for tomorrow’s squad against Real Valladolid, but Casadó is now aiming to recover fully before the end of the season.
Casadó’s return is a much-needed boost to Barcelona’s midfield department, where Pedri and Frenkie de Jong have had to bear a lot of the workload.
Before his injury, Casadó was emerging as an important squad player, making 36 appearances in all competitions, notching one goal and six assists.
Flick has praised Casadó for his tactical intelligence and work rate, attributes that saw him established as a mainstay within the squad earlier this season.
His ability to play as both a defensive midfielder or box-to-box operator now gives his German coach further flexibility in the crucial end of the season.
Although Barcelona will likely look to ease Casadó back in slowly, his return is more than just squad depth, it is an indicator that La Masia can still produce first-team-ready players.
For a club that is still struggling financially, having academy products such as Casadó come into their own will be invaluable for the coming seasons.
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