Luis de la Fuente admits losing Barcelona player was the toughest moment of his spell at Spain NT | OneFootball

The first international break of the season is finally here, with almost a dozen and a half Barcelona players expected to participate.

Needless to say, a majority of these players will play for the Spain national team, in the UEFA Nations League.

Ahead of these fixtures, Spain national team coach Luis de la Fuente was notably asked about his toughest moment since taking charge of the team.

De la Fuente rued Gavi’s injury

Luis de la Fuente has enjoyed immense success with Spain. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Reflecting on the most difficult period of his tenure, de la Fuente pointed to the serious injury suffered by Barcelona midfielder Gavi, describing it as a harrowing experience for the entire squad.

“Gavi’s injury was a tough moment for everyone,” de la Fuente said (h/t COPE). “We had a feeling of pain stemming from an accident, from losing a dear person to us.”

The coach went on to detail the emotional scenes in the dressing room in the aftermath. “If you had seen the reaction from the players in the dressing room, it was horrifying,” he explained.

“Everyone was hugging and supporting him. It was incredibly moving,” he added.

Gavi’s role at Barcelona

Gavi has found game-time hard to come by this season. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

While Gavi has since recovered, his situation at Barcelona remains a challenging one, with the midfielder struggling to command regular minutes this season.

The emergence of a stacked midfield has made competition for places fiercer than ever at Camp Nou.

With Pedri firmly established as a starter and the summer arrival of Rodri adding further quality, Gavi finds himself further down the pecking order under Hansi Flick.

Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo have also been in fine form, contributing goals from advanced midfield roles, which has only limited Gavi’s opportunities further.

As a result, the Spain international has largely been restricted to cameo appearances in the early weeks of the campaign.

For a player of Gavi’s undoubted talent and energy, that lack of game time is far from ideal.

He will be hoping to force his way back into contention as the season progresses, both to reignite his Barcelona career and to cement his place in de la Fuente’s plans.