Pedri sticks to his own plan before returning to the group: injury or precaution?

FC Barcelona

The Barcelona are already working with the entire squad together, and there is one name that still has not appeared in the group sessions: Pedri. The canary's absence during these first days has drawn attention, although within the club they are sending a clear message: everything is the result of a physical planning schedule.

The midfielder returned on Wednesday after winning the World Cup with Spain and his comeback was not going to be the same as that of the other internationals. The fitness coaches designed a specific plan to manage the workload after a particularly demanding summer.

Specific plan

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The roadmap begins away from the ball, because Pedri has devoted these first training sessions to gym work, with exercises aimed at regaining his feel and preparing his body before joining the group's pace. If there are no changes, this Saturday he will take the next step with a running session on the pitch.

Before rejoining the Blaugrana ranks, the player had already shown on his social media images of him training on his own. That prior work has served as the foundation for a progressive return that the coaching staff considers the most suitable.

Hansi Flick already has all the first-team players, who are only waiting for any moves that might happen in the transfer market. With Pedri, the priority is not to rush deadlines, but to arrive in the best possible condition at the start of a season in which he will again be one of the key pieces in the Blaugrana midfield.

Fantasy

The specific plan is designed so that Pedri can make his debut without problems in the Matchday 2 against Elche at the Martínez Valero. If they wanted to hold him back, because the tune-up is not what was planned, there would be several alternatives:

Flick could keep the same shape and put Gavi straight into Pedri's position, but we have a clear example from last year's match, with the Elche and at the Martínez Valero, where Pedri was injured and Hansi Flick opted to play De Jong as a holding midfielder (This year it will be Bernal or Eric) and Raphinha, Olmo and Fermín in midfield, with the front three Yamal, Rashford and Ferrán.