Relief for Barcelona as star defender available for UCL clash vs Atletico Madrid after injury scare | OneFootball

Barcelona’s narrow win over Atletico Madrid wasn’t without cost, as the club lost two players in Ronald Araujo and Marc Bernal through injury.

Araujo had initially started the game in the Barcelona backline, but picked up a hamstring knock towards the end of the first half.

After soldering on for ten minutes or so, he asked to be substituted and was replaced by Marc Bernal, who picked up an injury during the hour mark.

Araujo’s knock sparked fears inside the Barcelona camp, given the sheer lack of options in central defence, especially with Eric Garcia struggling with fitness and Andreas Christensen currently sidelined.

No injury for Araujo

However, in a major boost, it appears Araujo has not picked up any injury during the Atletico Madrid.

Ronald Araujo will be available to play against Atletico Madrid. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

According to Helena Condis (h/t COPE), the Uruguayan international does not have any injury and will be available for Wednesday’s clash against Atletico Madrid, this time in the UEFA Champions League.

This could be a big boost for Hansi Flick, who is running thin on options in the defensive department.

Araujo’s availability, therefore, could help massively with his team selection, although there is a stark possibility the defender could be benched against Atleti.

That is because Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde are also back, and one would expect someone like Kounde to start at right-back this midweek.

Araujo, though, will still be in contention in case both of them are not fit enough to start this midweek. In any case, Flick would welcome the luxury of having an extra defender available for this crunch encounter.