Barcelona might have gotten Frenkie de Jong back and are closing in on a Lamine Yamal return, but they just lost Gavi for an extended period.

The Catalan club announced Gavi underwent an arthroscopy to fix a medial meniscus injury with a recovery timeline estimated around four to five months. Gavi first suffered the knee injury in training back in August and has yet to appear in a match since. The 21-year-old was originally thought to be out until around November, though now it looks more like January or February 2026 depending on how he recovers.

De Jong had missed Barcelona’s clash with Valencia coming back from the September international break, but since returned against Newcastle United and Getafe in the Champions League and La Liga respectively. Yamal is on the verge of returning after picking up a groin injury with Spain, though Hansi Flick is still waiting to get both Fermín López and Alejandro Balde back fit. The German manager was vocally critical of Spain’s handling of Yamal.

Gavi, a Kopa Trophy winner, first broke into the Barcelona first team during the 2021–22 season. In total, he has made 155 appearances for the club tallying 10 goals and 18 assists as a central midfielder. After making 70 league appearances from 2021–23, injuries have derailed further campaigns appearing in just 38 La Liga games over the past two seasons.

With this injury set to sideline him for a considerable period, question marks over his future at Barcelona and a potential 2026 FIFA World Cup roster spot could rise.

Keeping both De Jong and Pedri fit will be of utmost importance to Flick moving forward given Gavi’s absence. The reigning La Liga champions face Real Sociedad on Sept. 28, Paris Saint-Germain on Oct. 1 and Sevilla on Oct. 5 before going on break.

READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Reveal Gavi Will Miss Extended Period With Meniscus Injury.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate