Late last week, Luis Enrique announced the Spain squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Switzerland and Spain, which will be La Roja’s final assignments before the FIFA World Cup in November.
And while as many as six Barcelona players were selected by the Spain manager, there was one very notable omission in the form of Ansu Fati.
Enrique cited the 19-year-old wonderkid’s lack of starts as a reason for excluding him, even though he was happy to select Jordi Alba, who has not played much this season either.
Now, as reported by Adrian Sanchez, Fati has been left ‘frustrated and disappointed’ after being snubbed by Enrique from the Spain squad.
The former Barcelona manager had called the teenager up during the last international break even though he was returning from a lengthy injury spell and had not played regularly for a while.
While Fati did not get any minutes with La Roja during that call-up, he was still brought in to be a part of the squad, indicating that he would be a part of the team’s plans for the World Cup. However, the latest snub casts shadows over whether Ansu Fati will be on the plane to Qatar come November.
The update from Adrian Sanchez also adds that the La Masia graduate is having problems to get back to his best level on the pitch after the injury layoffs he has experienced over the past two years.
Barcelona manager Xavi has been using Fati very cautiously so as to avoid any relapse of injuries. But the regulated game-time is not exactly helping the teenager get back to his rhythm either.
With not much time left before the World Cup, the upcoming month could be key in defining Fati’s fortunes as Barcelona will be playing two games every week until early November and Xavi will be forced to rotate his troops regularly.
