Barcelona’s summer acquisition Inigo Martinez is not expected to return from his injury before September, writes Sergi Capdevila for Spanish publication SPORT.
The 32-year-old veteran defender joined Barcelona from Athletic Bilbao on a free transfer this summer, signing a two-year deal until 2025 with a €400 million release clause.
However, despite being at the club since early July, the player is yet to train with his new teammates as he continues to recover from a foot injury that he sustained last season.
“The fascia injury is complicated, it lasts for a while, but I’m feeling much better,” said the defender during his unveiling.
“I feel a big improvement. I’m taking the next steps. I was told that there was no hurry to run. That I had to recover. Good feelings and soon I hope to do things with the team,” he added.
What’s the situation like now?
It has already been established that Martinez will miss the season opener against Getafe on Sunday, August 13. As far as his return is concerned, it only depends on how the sensations are as his injury is quite delicate, to say the least.
As of now, the footballer continues to work alone and the reason why he has not been given the green signal from the medical team is that he had surgery at the end of last season to help alleviate the pain.
It is very logical to think that since he is already ruled out of the opener and is still training alone, it will take him at least a couple of weeks – after he begins training with the rest of the team – to return to full fitness.
Barcelona were aware of the problem
It is not to say that Martinez’s injury was hidden from Barcelona. In fact, the Blaugrana knew about the persisting problems and what they were getting into while signing the 32-year-old.
So now, all they can do is be patient with the player and not rush into anything.
Because of the minute peculiarities of this injury, Barcelona just cannot afford any risk as it all depends on how the player reacts to the treatment.
For now, his return this month is unlikely and fans will have to continue to wait to see Martinez in the Blaugrana colours.
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