Besides his obvious abilities as a defender, Hansi Flick is eagerly awaiting Ronald Araujo's return for several reasons. The German manager didn't use him against Leganes or Atletico Madrid despite being fully fit, but given the situation Barcelona found themselves in, they couldn't give him his first appearance back from injury.
Araujo has been out for the past six months after undergoing surgery on his hamstring following an injury in the Copa del Rey. The 25-year-old is set for a return to action from the start against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey, Sport reports. With Marc-Andre ter Stegen out due to an injury, Araujo is also the first captain.
His return is described as a relief for Flick, who can finally rest Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi more often, as he did not trust Eric Garcia to do so. Araujo's leadership and strength of character are also expected to help the squad's low morale, and he could even be deployed as a right-back. Because Jules Kounde was a little low on energy, Araujo was also able to give them some extra energy and gas on the wing.
The question will be how Araujo gets back into the starting line-up. Outside of ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal, Barcelona have most of their injured players back, but long-term injury victims Ansu Fati, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong have struggled to find their best form since their return. Flick hopes that the process with Araujo will go faster.
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