Barcelona will kick off their pre-season training with a match against Juventus not far from now. However, they are likely to be without two defenders for the game tonight as both Inigo Martinez and Alejandro Balde have still not fully recovered from their respective injuries.
Martinez is still dealing with some discomfort due to the leg injury he suffered last season and it is unlikely that the new signing will see any minutes on the US tour.
As for Balde, his recovery from the ankle injury is well on track and it is expected that he could be ready for the final stage of the pre-season.
As such, Javi Miguel of AS is reporting that the 19-year-old left-back is likely to receive his medical clearance in the last week of the US tour and could be in contention to face AC Milan in the final friendly in early August.
Balde suffered a serious ankle injury in the last phase of the 2022/23 campaign after being on the receiving end of a horrific tackle from a Mallorca player.
It was expected that the 19-year-old La Masia graduate would be out for close to ten weeks, which will be completed in the final phase of the pre-season.
So far, neither Balde nor Martinez has trained with the group so far and while a return to sessions with the entire squad could be close, the left-back is only likely to play in the last game of the US tour against Milan.
It would mean that Xavi Hernandez will hand opportunities to Marcos Alonso and youngster Alex Valle, who is back at the club after spending the second half of the last season on loan at Andorra.
Given the importance that Balde holds in Xavi’s plans, it is important for Barcelona to not rush his recovery and return and give him ample time to be fully fit and ready for action.
